Mountain Lion Wanders Into L.A. Zoo, Possibly Kills Koala

Call this is a reverse prison break. A mountain lion that’s known to roam throughout the Hollywood Hills may have gotten into the Los Angeles Zoo and killed a resident koala.

From USA Today via the Associated Press:

Los Angeles Zoo officials say the koala went missing on March 3 and its bloody, partially eaten remains were found a short time later found outside the zoo.

The night before the koala was found, a 7-year-old male puma known as P-22 was seen on black and white surveillance video near the zoo inside Griffith Park, the sprawling urban wilderness that he calls home.

The big cat may have managed to leap a 9-foot-high fence to reach the koala enclosure and snatch Killarney, a 14-year-old female that was the oldest koala in the exhibit.

She had a habit of leaving the trees and wandering around on the ground at night, zookeepers said.

However, the evidence is circumstantial, zoo director John Lewis and other officials acknowledged Thursday.

The attack itself wasn’t recorded, and there are other predators, such as bobcats and coyotes, that were capable of killing the koala.