A mountain lion was struck and killed on the 101 Freeway within the Santa Monica Mountains early Wednesday morning, lower than every week after one other was killed in the identical space.
P-89, a 2-year-old male, was discovered lifeless on the shoulder of the 101, between the DeSoto and Winnetka exits.
He’s the fourth mountain lion to die after being struck by a automobile this yr, based on a social media submit from the Nationwide Park Service.
The younger lion is the second killed previously 5 days within the Santa Monica Mountains. On Friday, P-54 — a 5-year-old feminine mountain lion — was struck and killed by a automotive on Las Virgenes Highway between Piuma Highway and Mulholland Freeway. The positioning is just not removed from the place her mom and brother, P-23 and P-97, had been killed.
2021 photograph of P-89, the 4th mountain lion to die from highway mortality this yr.
(NPS)
The Santa Monica Mountains Nationwide Recreation Space, a unit of the Nationwide Park Service, mentioned P-89 had been struck by a automobile round 2 a.m.
The younger cat had been collared as a part of the park service’s cougar examine space — which incorporates the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills, Griffith Park and the Santa Susana and Verdugo mountains — in 2020 after he was born through the “summer time of kittens.”
Wildlife officers say a full necropsy will likely be carried out on P-89 within the coming days.
Tiffany Yap, a senior scientist for the nonprofit Middle for Organic Variety, mentioned in a press release that she hopes the loss of life of P-89 will encourage California lawmakers to enact extra protections for mountain lions.
“When state senators contemplate the Protected Roads and Wildlife Safety Act subsequent month, I hope they see the gravity of the scenario and cross the invoice,” Yap mentioned.
The Protected Roads and Wildlife Safety Act, AB 2344, would require Caltrans to establish potential wildlife obstacles on all future transportation tasks and implement no less than 10 tasks that enhance wildlife crossings.
The invoice is predicted to be heard by the California Senate Appropriations Committee in August.
