MALIBU, Calif.  (AP) — A California mountain lion placed under a death sentence for killing nearly a dozen alpacas owned by a Malibu woman was granted a reprieve when the woman announced she wouldn’t act on a state-issued permit giving her the right to kill the animal.

A neighbor had offered to shoot the big cat known as P-45 for Victoria Vaughn-Perling, but she told reporters it was never her intention to have the cougar killed. Instead, she said, she hoped game officials would capture it and get it away from her ranch.