A crafty mountain lion from here in the Santa Monica Mountains has crossed the Ventura (101) Freeway near Thousand Oaks. The National Park Service confirmed the rare event after the lion, dubbed “P-55,” was caught on video surveillance footage in a Newbury Park backyard. The puma’s successful freeway crossing is only the fourth ever since wildlife experts have been keeping track using GPS technology in a study that began 15 years ago.
The eight-lane 101 Freeway is a significant obstacle for the specially protected species and a dangerous obstacle as well. Along with a recent number of mountain lion sightings in Malibu has come the news of the animals being hit and killed on the 101. Seventeen big cats have been killed since 2002 while trying to cross highways in Southern California—three times this year alone, with a mother lion and two of her cubs hit and killed in separate incidents.
“The overwhelming pattern we’ve observed through GPS tracking is lions coming up to the edge of a freeway and turning around,” said Seth Riley, a wildlife ecologist with the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. “So it’s really interesting to see another lion get across.”
With a population estimated at fewer than 20 animals in the Santa Monica Mountains, wildlife experts say P-55’s crossing is a significant boost to local mountain lions’ chances for survival. A growing human population, bringing more buildings and freeways, isolates the lions and diminishes their ecosystems, as well as limiting their breeding opportunities. For a strong and healthy population of their species, the big cats need to disperse to avoid inbreeding.
In order to help facilitate effective freeway crossings and keep the species from extinction, locally a multi-million dollar wildlife corridor is scheduled to be built at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills as early as next year. The area was identified by experts at the National Park Service as a vital link to help mountain lions and other animals to broaden their range and habitats—hopefully leading to genetic diversity in their dwindling population.
P-55 apparently crossed the multilane highway near the Conejo Grade on July 30 some time between midnight and 2 a.m., according to researchers. The animal has also been tracked crossing the 23 and 118 freeways. Experts think the sub-adult male lion is currently roaming the hills in the Simi Valley area. He is the third lion documented crossing this area north and away from the Santa Monica Mountains. He joins his siblings P-32 and P-33, who crossed at different times in 2015.