Mountain Lion Nearly Stumbles Into Backyard Spa

NEWBURY PARK (CBSLA.com) — A mountain lion nearly stumbled into a spa in Newbury Park last Saturday morning.

The animal left behind scratch marks and a ripped spa cover.

A critter cam attached to a chair caught the action.

Homeowner Melissa Smith recorded the trail of water from the spa to the side fence.

"The weirdest thing I've ever seen," says Smith. "Thing was huge...feet are ginormous."

The National Park Service (NPS) took a mug shot of the possible intruder a few months ago, calling him P-55.

He wears a radio tracking collar and he's thought to be the cat on camera almost falling into the spa and then jumping over the fence to Renee Merill's home.

"I'm used to the coyotes but never something this big," says Merill.

For several years now, NPS has been tracking mountain lions, and numbering them -- 58 so far.

P-55 and P-56 were caught and collared in the western Santa Monica Mountains in April.

Merill is hoping P-55, possibly a year-and-a-half old, will not come back.

She called wildlife officials who told her P-55's tracking collar shows he's back in the mountains where he belongs.