Malibu Couple Adds $2K to Puma Killer Capture Reward

If you know who is responsible for , that information could be worth nearly $20,000. Malibu residents Denise and Daniel Villefort announced at Monday's meeting that they would add $2,000 to a reward that now totals $18,700 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who killed the animal in late August or early September.

The Villeforts made their offer just before the council formalized its $5,000 contribution that it had approved earlier this month.

"We have lived in Malibu for a long time and we feel truly blessed to live among all the wildlife," Denise Villefort said. "And we feel it's each and everyone's duty to protect especially the deemed-protected wildlife."

She said other Malibu residents should also contribute to the reward.

"Together, I think it's the only way that we're going to send a message that this behavior will not be tolerated in Malibu," Villefort said.

The 7-year-old male, known to the National Park Service as P-15, was collared with a GPS device so NPS biologists could monitor him. His collar stopped sending signals in August and he was found dead Sept. 11 in Ventura County near the Los Angeles County border. California Department of Fish and Game investigators concluded poachers killed the animal. 

Others who have contributed to the reward include the city of Calabasas ($5,000), the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust and Fish and Game ($5,000), the Ventura County-based Animal Rescue Team Inc. ($1,500) and San Diego's Mountain Lion Foundation ($200).

Those with information about the killing should call Fish and Game's Cal-Tip hotline at 888-334-2258.