P-47, A mountain lion being tracked in the Santa Monica Mountains, was found dead in late March, with recent necropsy results indicating six different anticoagulants in the lion’s system.
“A necropsy revealed that he may have succumbed to poisoning from anticoagulant rodenticide, commonly known as rat poison,” a post from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) stated. “Testing on a sample of his liver showed that he had been exposed to not just one, but six different anticoagulant compounds! Internal hemorrhaging was also found in his head and lungs.”
P-47 was a three-year-old male who was first tracked by the National Park Service at only four weeks old. “He was later fitted with a GPS collar in January 2017 when he was 14 months old and weighed 108 pounds. At his last capture in January 2018, he weighed in at exactly 150 pounds, which tied him for the largest among all the mountain lions in the history of the NPS study,” SMMNRA information stated.
On March 21, P-47’s GPS collar “sent out a mortality signal,” after which parks officials were able to locate his remains.
P-47 is not the first big cat to be found dead after having ingested poison.
“Biologists have documented the presence of anticoagulant rodenticide compounds in 21 out of 22 local mountain lions that they have been tested, including in a three-month-old kitten,” SMMNRA information stated. “Lab results for P-64, who died a few weeks after the Woolsey Fire, also found six different anticoagulant compounds in his liver.”