Mountain Lion or Other Wild Animal in Town? Call on Me, Vet Says

Animal-rights activists—upset by —implored authorities Wednesday to call on wildlife experts if a wild animal wanders into the city again.

At a news conference outside , a Santa Monica resident and veterinarian who said she has anesthetized more than 500 big cats in the past 10 years, told the Santa Monica Police Department and the California Department of Fish and Game, "we are here for you."

Dr. Jennifer Conrad joined members of In Defense of Animals and Animal Advocates who said public agencies should consult and team up with experts and nonprofits. Handling wildlife is an expertise that can’t be learned in a half-day course, she said.

"Use the residents you have living in this big city and let us help you," Conrad told the agencies. "And then wildlife doesn’t have to die for the misfortune of ending up in one of our cities."

Police and fish and game wardens attempted to tranquilize a 75-100 pound mountain lion found by a janitor at about 6 a.m. May 22 in a courtyard on Second Street, but said the dart only agitated it. They used pepper-balls and blasted the courtyard's glass doors with water from fire hoses, but insisted they had to kill the two-year-old lion to keep it from bolting into downtown.

The killing upset animal rights advocates who questioned why other methods weren't used to subdue the lion. The population in the Santa Monica Mountains, where biologists believe the animal originated, has declined as as people built closer to wildlands. 

Jeff Sikich, a parks service biologist, has said he believes the mountain lion who .

"Here in Santa Monica we live with wildlife around us... this is going to happen again and we need to have a plan in check," said Mary Cummins President of Animal Advocates. 

Conrad suggested she might have used heavier medication to calm the mountain lion and perhaps fired another tranquilizer dart.

“My tolerance for a mountain lion moving after being darted is much higher than most peoples’ tolerance, because I do this for a living,” she said.

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