Mountain lion hit, killed trying to cross freeway

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A mountain lion called P-18, shown here as a cub, was hit and killed early Tuesday morning while attempting to cross I-405 just south of the Getty Center onramp. The National Parks Service had been monitoring P-18 since he was three weeks old. Caltrans officials are exploring locations to construct wildlife crossings across freeways to facilitate wildlife movement.

A 15-month-old mountain lion was hit and killed early Tuesday morning while attempting to cross I-405 just south of the Getty Center onramp, a National Parks Service press release stated. The mountain lion had been tracked since it was three weeks old as part of a decade-long NPS mountain lion study in the Santa Monica Mountains. Named P-18, the mountain lion departed from his mother’s home range in Malibu Creek State Park earlier this summer and slowly began making his way east through the mountains, the press release states. It is possible the mountain lion was seeking open space, as there are currently two other male mountain lions with GPS collars in the Santa Monica Mountains. Previous mountain lion tracking has shown that individual male mountain lions frequently move throughout the entire Santa Monica Mountain range, from the 405 to Camarillo.

A total of 21 mountain lions have been tracked via radio telemetry and GPS collars since the NPS monitoring program began in 2002, the press release states. The study has shown that freeways restrict wildlife movement within the mountains. Only one mountain lion, P-12, has successfully crossed a freeway since the NPS began monitoring mountain lion movement, when he crossed highway 101 in early 2009. He has lived in the Santa Monica Mountains ever since. P-12 is the father of P-18, the mountain lion that was killed Tuesday.

Parks officials say the restrictions in movement have resulted in inbreeding among the mountain lion population, which threatens the long-term survival of the species in the Santa Monica Mountains. The press release states that Caltrans, in partnership with numerous governmental and non-profit organizations, is trying to identify locations along the 405 and highways 101 and 118 to construct wildlife crossings, as well as funding. NPS officials say the wildlife crossings would allow mountain lions and other wildlife to move safely between the Santa Monica Mountains and other protected open space in the Santa Susana Mountains and Los Padres National Forest.

“Investing in connected pieces of parkland and constructing wildlife crossings along major freeways around Los Angeles is essential for long term mountain lion survival in the Santa Monica Mountains,” park superintendent Woody Smeck said. “Mountain lions must be able to move freely between large parklands with suitable habitat throughout the course of their daily movements, as well as exchange genetic material to prevent inbreeding in specific parkland areas like the Santa Monica Mountains.”