Mountain Lion Found Outside Macy's Store In Temecula Dies

TEMECULA (CBSLA.com) — A mountain lion made an early morning trip to a Temecula mall early Friday, authorities said.

Officials with California Fish and Wildlife responded to a call around 6:15 a.m. of a mountain lion sighting outside of the Promenade Mall at 40820 Winchester Road, according to Fish and Game spokesman Kyle Orr.

They discovered a young mountain lion about 18 months old in the loading bay outside a Macy's department store, according to Orr.

The lion may have been looking for its own territory before ending up at the location, Orr said.

Deputies were able to eventually corner the animal in the parking lot before tranquilizing the cat and hauled it off in the back of a pickup truck, officials said.

While the animal was being moved to a more appropriate habitat, the mountain lion died, according to Orr.

A necropsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.