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Zoo surveillance
cameras showed P-22 prowling around the zoo the night of the
koala's violent death, zoo director John Lewis told a news
conference.
"Unfortunately, these types of incidents happen when we have a
zoo in such close proximity to one of the largest urban parks in
the country," Deputy Los Angeles Mayor Barbara Romero said in a
statement.
Zoo cameras did not capture P-22 in the act, but officials said
there is ample evidence to support their belief that the cougar
found his way into the marsupial enclosure before making off
with the koala, named Killarney.
P-22 appears to have jumped an 8-foot (2.4-meter) wall
protecting the koalas before making off with Killarney, who
weighed at least 15 pounds (6.8 kg), Lewis said. Parts of her
mangled body were found a short distance away. Only a large
predator could manage that, he said.
Killarney may have been especially vulnerable to attack because
she had a habit of spending time on the ground after dark while
most of the other koalas stayed in the trees.
Zoo officials said they have temporarily moved the remaining 10
koalas indoors around the clock, with most of the other zoo
animals moving inside every night.
P-22's name was given by biologists studying mountain lions in
Southern California. It combines the first letter of "puma" with
the number that indicates he was the 22nd large cat tagged for
the study.
He lives in 4,000-acre (1,619-hectare) Griffith Park, which
includes both wild sections and the zoo, and had been on zoo
grounds before without "bothering any of the animals or being a
nuisance," Lewis said.
Last year, P-22 touched off a media frenzy after he was
discovered hiding in the crawl space under a Los Angeles house.
He stole away undetected in the dead of night.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Sara Catania and
Sandra Maler)
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