Malibu Ranchers Peeved at Mountain Lion Hunting Livestock

MALIBU, CA -- Ranchers living along the Santa Monica Mountains are concerned for their safety after a well-known mountain lion started killing their livestock.

Ranchers are worried that the cougar, known as P45, is getting aggressive and will be targeting humans next.

“He’s dangerous,” Wendell Phillips told CBS2 Los Angeles. “This particular mountain lion has decided he has a taste for domestic animals and once they do that they usually don’t stop.”

Phillips said the lion has already killed five of his alpacas, but the National Park Service says the behavior is normal and people have nothing to fear.

“When a mountain lion kills unprotected livestock it’s an easy meal for him. It’s not a sign of aggressive or abnormal behavior,” NPS spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall said.

Phillips wants the lion relocated but the the Park Service said it was against their policy to do so. P45 has been observed and studied for the past 14 years.

The Park Service is sympathetic to the rancher's concerns and will be offering workshops for ranchers on how to better protect their livestock but ultimately, hunting for easy preys is part of the lion's nature, the NPS said.

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