Tiger roaming hills near Reagan Library killed

LOS ANGELES – Authorities shot and killed a male tiger Wednesday that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The 425-pound cat was shot several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development. Authorities still don’t know who the owner is.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to kill it,” said Lorna Bernard, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. “It’s even more unfortunate that the person who owned it didn’t come forward and alert us immediately. We might have been able to capture it.”

Trackers had to shoot to kill because a tranquilizer would have taken five to 10 minutes to bring down the animal, Bernard said. They were concerned the animal might attack them or bolt onto a nearby highway. The animal was killed near Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Authorities received a call just after 6 a.m. from a resident who reported the tiger strolling past his back fence. He said his children took pictures from inside their home.

Ken Tucker told KCBS-TV the tiger walked to a nearby house and “was just staring down” the neighbor’s dogs.

The trackers had been looking for the animal for eight days, using infrared equipment at night. They had set traps with goat meat and chicken.

The hunt began after the discovery of paw prints on a ranch near the library that were far too large for native bobcats or mountain lions.

Bernard said the owner could have told authorities about the tiger’s temperament and eating habits, which might have helped them catch the animal sooner.