LA's famed mountain lion P-22 killed Chihuahua on leash in Hollywood Hills, park service says
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Wildlife experts have confirmed that LA's most well-known mountain lion, P-22, was the big cat that attacked and killed a dog on a leash near the Hollywood Reservoir earlier this month.
A Chihuahua named Piper was killed in the attack, but the family's other dog survived.
They were able to make that determination using P-22's GPS tracking collar and other information.
The National Park Service, which tracks and studies mountain lions in the region, said attacks on leashed pets are rare. The service is not aware of any other such attacks in the Los Angeles area and has only seen studies that have documented two other such incidents, one in Colorado and one elsewhere in Southern California.
They also generally do not attack humans and the service noted the person walking the dog was not harmed.
P-22 typically hunts prey animals such as deer and coyotes and recently killed a large buck in Griffith Park, officials say.
"In terms of this incident, there is no evidence that preying on pets is related to an increased chance of an attack on a person, either in mountain lions, or in other urban carnivores such as coyotes," according to a post from the service's Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "Mountain lion attacks on humans are exceedingly rare, although they do occur."
P-22 lives in Griffith Park and is estimated to be 12 years old. He is known as the most famous cat tracked in the Los Angeles area, making appearances in backyards and neighborhoods around Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills.
Video captures famed mountain lion P-22 outside Hollywood Hills home
