P-22: Los Angeles celebrity mountain lion captured

Attacks by mountain lions are rare within California.

Hollywood's best known mountain lion, or cougar, has been captured and tranquilised, weeks after a fatal attack on a pet chihuahua.

The wild cat P-22, famous for roaming through residential areas, was caught on CCTV frequently.

P-22 has been popular with locals and tourists, but is quite elderly at the age of 12.

Authorities had become alarmed about his increasingly "agitated" behaviour, say reports.

The National Park service confirmed that P-22 was responsible for killing a chihuahua that was being walked in the Hollywood hills last month.

Sarah Picchi, a Los Feliz resident who found P-22, told the Los Angeles Times that Fish and Wildlife Department officers rang at her front gate and said: "You have a lion in your back yard."

Ms Picchi said he was tranquilised on Monday morning. Officials said he was in a stable condition after his sedation.

The local feline celebrity was part of a National Park service study. He was often recorded by security cameras near LA's Griffith Park, a wilderness and picnic area.

He wore a GPS tracking collar, which allowed officials to view him prowling further away from his home range than usual.

P-22 is 12 years old, making him the oldest Southern California cougar to be studied. Most mountain lions live for only a decade.

Typically he would only hunt deer and coyotes, but there were growing concerns following the chihuahua attack and another suspected dog attack in the Silver Lake neighbourhood this month.

"P-22 is a remarkably old cat in the wild and, after being deemed responsible for killing a leashed pet last month, may be exhibiting signs of distress," the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The department said it would "determine the best next steps for the animal while also prioritising the safety of surrounding communities".

Nothing has been disclosed about what will happen to the cougar.