A Southern California mountain lion that was part of a study by federal biologists has been found dead.

The National Park Service says remains of the 5 1/2-year-old female lion known as P-23 were recovered this week near Malibu Canyon Road and she appeared to have been struck by a vehicle.

Biologist Jeff Sikich of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area says P-23 had been tracked since she was just a few weeks old. Biologists monitored her as she left her mother, established her own home range and had three litters of kittens.

Sikich says her premature death shows the challenge facing the cats as they try to navigate the region's roads. P-23 is the 18th mountain lion killed on a freeway or road in the study region since 2002.

The mountain lion population is high in California, relative to other parts of the United States. Density estimates vary, but the figure might be as high as 10 lions per 100 square miles. By that estimate, the population is somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions statewide.

But it's difficult to say whether that population is increasing or decreasing without an ongoing statewide study.

One thing is certain -- mountain lions go where they can find food, primarily deer. That sometimes brings them into urban areas, but it should be noted that a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. There have been only 16 verified mountain lion attacks in California since 1890, six of which were fatal, according to the agency.

The department receives hundreds of reports each year about mountain lions killing pets and livestock.

Mountain lions are a specially protected species in California under the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990, approved as Prop 117 by California voters. The classification has nothing to do with mountain lion numbers in California, but its passage made it illegal to hunt the big cats.