A mountain lion killed a family's pit bull in Los Angeles, California, authorities said.
The cougar was first spotted around 5 a.m. Saturday near the Oakridge mobile home park off Foothill Blvd. and Glenoaks Blvd. in the Sylmar neighborhood, Fox 11 reported.
Authorities issued a “wildlife warning” for the San Fernando Valley after the incident, the outlet reported.
Resident Rey Constante was returning home when he noticed the cougar on top of a gray pitbull with a leash still attached.
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A mountain lion killed a family's pitbull in Los Angeles, California. (U.S. National Park Service via AP)
“A huge mountain lion just killed our neighbor's dog. I'm worried for the owners as the dog was still on a leash. The beautiful pitbull is now dead,” Constante wrote on Facebook. “Oakridge residents, please do not walk your pets at night. This animal is still roaming around untagged waiting for the next victim.”
“He looked up at me and growled… and I was like 'wow'… I was startled,” she told Fox 11.
A person in another vehicle honked their horn and scared the cougar away, the outlet reported.
The dog, 5-year-old Gigi, had recently been adopted by the Southern California Pit Bull Rescue, which is preserving the dog's remains to be handed over to California Fish and Wildlife for research, according to Fox 11.
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Authorities issued a “wildlife warning” for the San Fernando Valley after the incident. (iStock)
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“Sylmar Neighbors: As we know, living in this wonderful community we come across a great deal of wildlife: coyotes, raccoons, opossums, the occasional bear, and lately a rather large mountain lion (maybe a couple of them),” the Sylmar Neighborhood Council wrote on its website.
Officials are urging residents to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves, including not jogging or walking alone and keeping children close, according to National Park Service guidelines.
If a cougar is sighted, residents are advised not to approach the animal, not to run away from it and not to crouch or duck. Residents should try to make themselves look larger by raising their arms and should fight back if attacked, the instructions said.
