A mountain lion that was part of a Southern California wildlife study has been struck and killed on a Los Angeles-area freeway.
The National Park Service says the lion known as P-39 was an adult female with three 6-month-old kittens.
The cat was struck on State Route 118 on Dec. 3 but it wasn't immediately reported to the park service and its identity wasn't confirmed until this week.
It's not known whether the kittens were with P-39 at the time. The cat is the 13th known mountain lion killed on a freeway or road in the study region since 2002.
The park service is studying how mountain lions survive amid urbanization.
Recently, a mountain lion killed alpacas on two ranches near Malibu, triggering debate over whether it should be euthanized.
