I just wanted to respond to the letter from Bruce Oatway (published 4/08/04) about seeing the dead mountain lion that was hit on Malibu Canyon Road. (I was going to respond to him myself, but there’s no phone listing for him in Malibu and he’s not on the Malibu High School website.) He was understandably upset and wondered why there hadn’t been more response from local agencies. As a six-year volunteer at California Wildlife Center (just off Malibu Canyon Road), I got in touch with Dr. Lynn Whited, the Director of Animal Care and resident veterinarian there, to find out what happened.
Apparently, even though the Sheriff’s Department was the first agency actually on the scene, they had already contacted Fish and Game and been instructed to have Animal Control come and pick up the dead mountain lion. State Fish and Game has jurisdiction over any mountain lion calls. If the animal is dead, it’s up to them to decide if a necropsy is warranted. (I don’t know what they decided in this case.) If the animal is injured, the Fish and Game Department does not allow any of the local wildlife rehabilitation groups to respond due to the inherent dangers involved. If the animal had still been alive, they would have come out, tranquilized it, and probably taken it to a specialized facility in San Diego County for medical care and treatment. (Dr. Whited might also be called in for stabilization prior to transport.) Without getting into the gory details, Dr. Whited says it is not uncommon for large animals that are hit by a car to show no visible injuries, especially if they’re broadsided.
It makes me feel bad there’s one less mountain lion. It’s such a miracle that they have managed to survive at all surrounded by urban areas. At the wildlife center, we get any number of coyotes, bobcats, deer, etc. hit by cars on Malibu Canyon Road every year, especially at night. Locals, commuters, beachgoers and Pepperdine people all need to be more vigilant when driving this road.
Jimy Tallal