a necropsy revealed that a mountain lion that wandered near a southern california shopping center on march 6 died after a game warden missed his mark and shot a tranquilizer dart into the animal's lung, officials say a necropsy revealed that the dart entered the mountain lion's chest cavity and delivered the tranquilizer to the cat's lung tissue, the press enterprise reports a game warden with the california department of fish and wildlife meant to shoot the three year old animal in the shoulder or the rump after officials cornered the cat in a loading dock at the promenade mall in temecula mountain lion: a mountain lion (photographed) that wandered near a southern california shopping center died after a game warden missed his mark and shot a tranquilizer dart into the animal's lung  the riverside county sheriff's department received several reports of the cat prowling around the mall around 6am and contacted fish and wildlife wardens who arrived at around 7am, the enterprise reports the game warden shot the male mountain lion with a tranquilizer dart and moved it to the bed of a pickup truck to be released back into the wild,the los angeles times reports the lion died while it was being transported and no one knew why however, recent necropsy results show that the male cat, otherwise healthy, stopped breathing shortly after being darted kevin brennan, a biologist with the fish and wildlife department, told the enterprise that in most circumstances, wardens don't have the luxury of waiting for the perfect shot breathing: necropsy results show that the male cat, otherwise healthy, stopped breathing shortly after being darted  he said that though the tranquilizer is safe when entering a muscle tissue, it can be fatal when delivered to the heart or lungs brennan said that the animal was not menacing to humans and the biggest threat it posed was the possibility of creating a traffic hazard wardens intended to release it safely back into the wild, and brennan said that it is always better if wardens don't have to 'chemically immobilize' an animal usually, wardens attempt to simply chase mountain lions away from a populated area if there is a safe route available, but in this case, there was no good exit for the cat, as he had wandered into the middle of town, brennan said fatal: an official said that  though the tranquilizer is safe when entering a muscle tissue, it can be fatal when delivered to the heart or lungs  rare: a spokesman with the department said that it is rare for an animal to die after being struck with a tranquilizer, and when one does, it is usually due to the dart damaging a sensitive area like the spineor, in this case, the lung  a spokesman with the department said that it is rare for an animal to die after being struck with a tranquilizer, and when one does, it is usually due to the dart damaging a sensitive area like the spineor, in this case, the lung 'they tried to do the right thing,' lt patrick foy, a fish and wildlife spokesman told nbc 'they have the training and equipment to do the right thing and it doesn't always work out' a witness told ktla that the animal was underneath a trailer for about 45 minutes before authorities arrived the mall wasn't open, and only a few store employees were around in the early hours but the mountain lion was reportedly first spotted near a freeway the animal was not aggressive, the la times reports officials say the animal could have made his way to the mall area for a number of reasons including simply looking for a suitable habitat habitat: officials say the animal could have made his way to the mall area for a number of reasons including simply looking for a suitable habitat 
california
a necropsy revealed that a mountain lion that wandered near a southern california mall died after a game warden accidentally shot it in the lung  the warden meant to shoot the tranquilizer dart into the animal's shoulder or rump but the dart pierced the animal's lung tissue instead  officials say the mountain lion may have wandered into the urban area seeking a suitable habitat 