Lion shot in US suburb

US police have shot dead a 45kg mountain lion romping through a Californian neighbourhood blocks from a well-known French restaurant.

Authorities said a neighbourhood resident reported the big cat to Berkeley police and firefighters around 2am local time on Tuesday.

The animal was seen roaming through residential backyards and a church playground before officers caught up with it.

Police and state wildlife officials quickly deemed the animal a threat to public safety, and officers were given the OK to shoot it. An officer killed it with a shotgun.

Pat Foy, a state game warden, says he has not ruled out the possibility the female lion was being kept as an illegal pet since no lions have been spotted in Berkeley in recent years.