LA's Celebrity Mountain Lion Suspected Of Killing A Zoo Koala

A celebrity mountain lion is suspected of killing a koala at the Los Angeles Zoo, giving new meaning to the term "concrete jungle."

Mauled body parts of Killarney, a 14-year-old female koala, were found hundreds of yards from its pen on March 3, the Los Angeles Times reported. Surveillance footage showed that P-22, a mountain lion known to roam the surrounding Griffith Park, was prowling through the zoo the night the koala was killed.

Officials noted there is "no definite photo or video evidence that P-22 was the cause of her disappearance."

While Killarney's death remains under investigation , zoo officials are taking additional precautions to protect other animals, including the 10 koalas she leaves behind.

Mountain lion P-22 spotted roaming LA Zoo grounds around the time slain koala went missing https://t.co/6Vlw0rmRuXhttps://t.co/uSIFjmWQyw

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Mountain lion P-22 spotted roaming LA Zoo grounds around the time slain koala went missing https://t.co/6Vlw0rmRuX https://t.co/uSIFjmWQyw
ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 10, 2016

P-22 achieved national fame when the wild animal was photographed near the Hollywood sign by National Geographic and featured in a National Wildlife Federation video with Rainn Wilson that advocated for a wildlife crossing in Los Angeles.

Officials suspect that the 7-year-old mountain lion found Killarney on the ground of her enclosure , separated from the other koalas resting in the trees. There was no sign of a struggle in the pen, which is surrounded by an 8-foot wall.

He had to jump down into the enclosure and jump back out with the koala, zoo director John Lewis told the LA Times. Its a pretty good feat in itself. ... It was a pretty quick snatch.

This wouldnt be the first time P-22 has been spotted in the zoo, which has also been haunted by wild coyotes and bobcats , the Times reported. The mountain lion wears a radio collar, but that data wasnt enough to pinpoint him as the culprit in Killarneys killing.

Weve looked at the GPS evidence , and of course talked to the zoo and looked at the enclosure, and its really inconclusive, Kate Kuykendall with the National Park Service told KABC. He was in the area, but our GPS points are separated by two hours, so we cant say for sure.