© Joe FanaselleA mountain lion lies sedated in the bed of a pickup truck in the Promenade mall parking lot in Temecula.
At least one witness called the Riverside County Sheriff's Department reporting the lion walking near the Macy's store early Friday morning, March 6. The sheriff's department called in a Fish and Wildlife warden who used an air-powered gun to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart, said Kyle Orr, a spokesman with Fish and Wildlife.
As officials were taking the adult male lion into the wilderness, it died, Orr said.
The cause of death is unknown and a necropsy is planned, but in general, when an animal dies after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, the two most common causes are damage done by the needle and a bad reaction to the drug, Orr said.
The animal was not acting aggressively but because the area is so densely populated by humans, removing it was a necessity, he said.
How the big cat ended up at the mall is unknown, but the lion appeared a little younger than two years which is an age marked by a case of wanderlust, Orr said.
"At that age, that generally means they're dispersing, looking for their own territory," he said.
Though it's rare for them to get deep into populated areas without being detected, it's not unheard of, he said.
"They're pretty elusive animals and can move pretty stealthily," he said.
Ahhh, not the kind of 'cougar' I thought it was. No doubt there are many of the other kind spotten in Cali all the time... no need to waste the tranquilizer, as they usually tranquilize themselves... just like their male counterparts, as without it, they may slip out of their self-chosen red-orange ray energy of expression.