P-22, pictured within the Griffith Park space close to downtown Los Angeles in 2014, has been euthanized, officers mentioned Saturday.

U.S. National Park Service, by way of AP

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U.S. National Park Service, by way of AP

P-22, pictured within the Griffith Park space close to downtown Los Angeles in 2014, has been euthanized, officers mentioned Saturday.

U.S. National Park Service, by way of AP

For years, a wild mountain lion’s presence in metropolitan Los Angeles captured the eye — and adoration — of town’s residents. But his story got here to a tragic shut on Saturday.

Wildlife officers euthanized the animal, dubbed P-22, after discovering he suffered from a slew of medical points — and sustained accidents after a automobile struck him.

The 12-year-old “Hollywood Cat” made his debut in 2012 after finishing a harmful trek from the Santa Monica Mountains, that included crossing two main LA freeways, according to the National Park Service.

He grew to become a neighborhood superstar after residents noticed him close to the Hollywood signal, becoming ill from rat poison and hiding underneath an LA home. And whereas P-22 spent years skulking freely in Griffith Park, the authorities introduced their resolution to seize him on Dec. 8.

After receiving studies that P-22 continued to seem dangerously near human dwellings, could also be distressed after killing a leashed pet in November, and studies {that a} automobile struck him, authorities efficiently captured the lion on Monday.

On Saturday, the medical staff at San Diego Zoo Safari Park and officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, mentioned they accomplished a medical examination on P-22 and really useful euthanasia.

“The results of these tests and screenings showed significant trauma to the mountain lion’s head, right eye and internal organs, confirming the suspicion of recent injury, such as a vehicle strike,” CDFW officers mentioned in a press release announcing the decision. “The trauma to his internal organs would require invasive surgical repair.”

The medical staff additionally cited the animal’s superior age, and pre-existing sicknesses, together with in depth parasitic pores and skin an infection, arthritis and irreversible kidney illness, in its resolution to euthanize the lion.

Officials mentioned they don’t seem to be in search of info on who struck P-22.

“This situation is not the fault of P-22, nor of a driver who may have hit him,” CDFW officers mentioned within the launch. “Rather, it is an eventuality that arises from habitat loss and fragmentation, and it underscores the need for thoughtful construction of wildlife crossings and well-planned spaces that provide wild animals room to roam.”