Mountain lion preys on pet poodle in Las Cruces

A small mountain lion attacked and killed a poodle early Wednesday in a populated area of Las Cruces, an official with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said.

The attack happened in the back yard of a home on Bentley Drive. The home is in a neighborhood behind Lowe's Home Improvement on North Main Street, Game and Fish spokeswoman LuAnn Tafoya said.

Mountain lions venturing into populated areas aren't unusual this time of year, Game and Fish officials said.

"It's kind of scary, this being a residential area," said Mark Uzu, 24, who lives on Bentley Drive but was unaware of where the attack took place. "We have children. God forbid anything like that would happen."

Game and Fish placed a live trap at the home later Wednesday in hopes of catching the animal, though it's difficult to say if the lion will return. Tafoya declined to provide the address of the incident or the dog's owner in hopes of keeping people away from the area — in part because the increased traffic makes it more difficult for the animal to be caught.

Tafoya said officials believe the lion was small because of the size of the bite marks on the dog and the track marks at the scene.