A mountain lion was caught on camera in a Studio City neighborhood with what appears to be a cat in its mouth.
Christopher Smith and his wife, Anne, recently heard about a mountain lion being spotted a mile away from their Studio city home. But they'd never actually seen one.
"I thought, 'Wow, that's interesting,'" he said. "But never thought much of it."
That's when social media accounts started circulating about a cougar on their street. Christopher Smith checked their security camera and there it was — a big cat, strolling right across their driveway with a smaller animal, possibly a domestic cat, in its mouth.
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"You hear about this stuff all the time," said Anne. "When you actually see it, it's pretty shocking."
It's also personal for the Smiths. They have a 2-year-old house cat named Dave Meow-thews.
Thankfully, Dave is alive and well today.
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But like other pet owners in the area, they're concerned after seeing videos of the mountain lion circulating online.
"We make sure to bring our little kitty inside at night," Anne said.
Animal experts say it's a good idea. Mountain lions prefer to hunt after sundown and they're usually looking for mule deer, but will sometimes take a pet for food.
"We had a stray around here, and he'd come up to our door, so I'm praying it's not him," Christopher said.
The lion looks small and doesn't appear to be wearing a tracking collar, which might rule out P-22, the male cougar known to be living in nearby Griffith Park.
Wildlife experts say such sightings may seem to be on the increase, but that may have to do with the fact there are more cameras than anything else.
