California man charged with shooting protected mountain lion

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A Simi Valley man has been charged with shooting and killing a protected mountain lion that roamed the mountains northwest of Los Angeles.

The Ventura County district attorney's office says Tuesday that Alfredo Gonzalez was charged with shooting the male cougar, known as P-38 and vandalizing its tracking collar. It's illegal to shoot a mountain lion without a state permit.

P-38 was born in 2012 and was known to roam the Santa Susana Mountains.

Prosecutors allege that the 60-year-old Gonzalez shot the animal in the head in Simi Valley, possibly on July 2.

P-38 is believed to have fathered four litters of cubs. He was part of a mountain lion population that National Park Service researchers are studying using GPS tracking collars.

It's unknown if Gonzalez has an attorney.