On the good news front: Three more mountain lion cubs were identified in a den in the Santa Monica Mountains. Good luck little ones–we are all cheering for your survival and are working to connect landscapes together for your benefit! ❤️❤️
This is fitting considering our post from yesterday. This Santa Monica Mountains cougar (P-61) managed to cross the 405 freeway near the Sepulveda Pass between 2 and 4 AM on July 19th. Go P-61! Fingers crossed at some point in the future, our wildlife will be able to safely cross our roadways with overpasses/culverts because we’ve planned them better. The risk is death. Glad he made it! #P61 #TheLegend Read the Patch article.
The cougars in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains face dire consequences if these “islands” of habitat are not connected. The cougars are genetically isolated, which causes inbreeding, and that means the mountain lions face local extinction. Corridors connecting other habitats and new females are needed to keep the populations genetically diverse. Read the Orange County Register article.
Our actions have consequences for the wildlife. Please don’t use rat poison … it makes its way up the food chain to the top predator.