A young mountain lion is probably dead in the Woolsey fire, according to park officials

LOS ANGELES (KABC) –

A young mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains probably died in the Woolsey fire, wildlife officials said Monday.

P-74 was the last mountain lion hunted by the National Parks Service that had not been found after the fire, which burned 20,839 acres of its 23,621 acres within the park's boundaries.

It was a male born in 2017 and captured for the first time a few months ago in the center of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Officials from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area said they had not received any signals from the P-74's GPS collar since Nov. 9, the day the ferry passed through. Woolsey fire in the central part of the mountain.

"We are sorry to announce that P-74, the last mountain lion we captured as part of our study on mountain lions, probably did not survive the fire of Woolsey, "they wrote in a Facebook message.

Biologists went to the field to do foot searches, but did not find it. They say that he was probably still dating his mother, who was not followed with a GPS collar. Last time, mother and son were seen traveling together in front of a camera at the end of October.

P-74 was not the youngest known puma in the mountains, but it was discovered in September 2018, making it the newest tracker followed by biologists.