Silicon Valley mountain lion killed

California wildlife officers tracked and killed a mountain lion Wednesday believed to be the one who attacked and injured a 6-year-old boy in the Silicon Valley area four days ago.

The animal was a juvenile male. He was tracked by dogs and climbed a tree where he was shot by officers, California Fish and Wildife Lt. Patrick Foy said.

The animal was located on the fourth day of an intensive search just 130 yards from the spot where the child was attacked on Sunday, Foy said.

The site is in the Santa Cruz mountains near Cupertino, Calif.

The animal's body will be examined and its DNA compared to samples taken from the torn clothing the child was wearing when attacked, Foy said. He said wildlife officials are confident the cat they killed is the one who attacked the boy.

While small, Foy said the mountain lion exhibited "very aggressive'' and territorial behavior.

He said it is likely the cougar had taken up residence in the area. Young male mountain lions typically are forced out of their home area by a dominant adult male lion as they approach adulthood and must find another area to establish as their own territory, Foy and other mountain lion experts said.

"They have to go find a place to make a living,'' he said. "This particular area was loaded with deer'' and thus an attractive habitat.

Wildlife officers had said based on tracks that they believed the animal was small, probably a juvenile, and was still in the same general area. Officers used dogs to track the mountain lion, and searchers remained near the attack site each night in hopes of spotting the animal.

"It was ultimately the dogs that allowed us to be successful,'' Foy said.