But was the puma really to blame for the killings or an unwitting participant in an elaborate hoax, and why did big cat sightings continue after she was caught?

The complaint included multiple time-stamped pictures of a puma on the property.

To date, at least 46 lions have died from car crashes, and the puma found dead on the 405 was the second to perish on a freeway in the region in a month.

California wildlife officials are poised to decide whether to designate six isolated clans of pumas as endangered or threatened species under state law.

Many modern big cats, like lions and pumas, are born with spots as babies.