Mountain lion shot, killed after prowling Santa Monica shopping mall A mountain lion that scientists believe to be one of perhaps just a dozen left in the Santa Monica mountains was shot and killed by authorities after it appeared in a high-end shopping mall in Santa Monica on Tuesday morning, an official with the California Department of Fish and Game told msnbc.com. Authorities initially tried but failed to subdue the cat, a 3-year old male weighing about 90 pounds that apparently wandered into the city overnight. "This was an unprecedented event," Fish and Game Department spokesman Andrew Hughan said of the lion's appearance in central Santa Monica. We do have lion in urban areas, but they are usually small towns. Never anything like this that anyone can recall. A maintenance worker at The Promenade spotted the large cat around 6:00 a.m. PT as cleaners were preparing the outdoor mall for opening and reported it to police, who in turn informed Fish and Game wardens. A warden and first responders from the police and fire departments converged on the mall and found the animal in a u-shaped courtyard," said Hughan. "It was trapped in a little enclosed area," he said. What wildlife will do is lie down like they do in the woods, trying to hide. After setting up a perimeter, police shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart, with the intent of removing it and returning it to its natural habitat, Hughan said. Before the tranquilizer could take effect, they tried to keep the agitated animal trapped using "pepper balls" and fire hoses. A news release from the Santa Monica Police Department said: "The mountain lion made several attempts to escape the courtyard and enter the public area. Regrettably, police were forced to use lethal force to prevent that animal from escaping the courtyard and endangering the public. An officer killed the mountain lion with a single shot, a move that had the full support of Fish and Game, said Hughan. This was an absolute last resort. No one at Fish and Game wants to destroy an animal, especially a mountain lion," he said. The far-ranging mountain lion population is under severe stress due to habitat loss and poaching, scientists say. Animals in the Santa Monica range are frequently hit by cars on highways that crisscross their territory. For a decade, the National Park Service has been tracking mountain lions in the 40-mile-long Santa Monica range, which stretches along the Pacific, separating Malibu from the San Fernando Valley, according to a report in The Malibu Times in January. There were 21 animals being tracked when the study began, but the park service now believes the count to be as low as four, the report said. "We are radio tracking two in the Santa Monicas and we know through remote camera surveys of at least two more," NPS scientist Seth Riley said, according to the Times report. It could certainly be more than that, maybe twice that. Based on everything we've seen the last 10 years, there is not enough room in the Santa Monica Mountains for more than 10 or 15 mountain lions. The animal is not yet considered endangered, but it is increasingly hemmed in by development, particularly in the Santa Monica area, scientists say. "This is regrettable," said Tim Dunbar, executive director of the nonprofit conservation group Mountain Lion Foundation. By having this poor lion die now ... if that number is true that will put even more pressure on the survivability of the species down there. Dunbar said the Sacramento-based foundation had dispatched staff to Santa Monica to investigate the animal's death, but did not yet have an opinion about the decision to use lethal force. "Part of the problem is that the tranquilizers for the animals act a little slower if the animal is agitated," said Dunbar. From reports I've heard, this animal was highly agitated.