By Debbi Baker

Originally published March 17, 2011 at 10:52 a.m., updated March 17, 2011 at 12:58 p.m.

A mountain lion was hit by a car and killed early Thursday in Rancho Peñasquitos.

The body of the female cat was found about 6:19 a.m. on Carmel Valley Road near Winecreek Road, not far from Oak Valley Middle School, said Kevin Brennan, a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game.

Game wardens estimated the animal weighed 80 to 100 pounds and was 1 to 2 years old.

There are about 6,000 mountain lions in the state, with about 1,000 roaming Southern California, Brennan said. In San Diego County, the solitary and elusive cats are most commonly found in the desert and mountain areas in the East County, he said.

It’s unusual to find them west of Interstate 15, Brennan said.

He said the fragmented, noncontiguous open areas are not good habitat for the big cats. The mountain lion will be taken to the Department of Fish and Game office in Kearny Mesa, and a necropsy will be performed to determine its exact cause of death, Brennan said.