Have you ever ever heard of P-22, the legendary mountain lion who roamed the hills of Los Angeles for over a decade? Sadly, this lovely large cat met his premature demise after being hit by a car and located injured in a yard.
This heart-wrenching story isn’t an remoted incident in California, because the state has seen a gradual toll of mountain lions being killed on its highways. Within the final eight years, there have been 535 reported instances of mountain lions killed on California roads – a price of 1 to 2 every week.
This has raised issues that the speed of mountain lions being killed by vehicles could also be surpassing their reproductive price, resulting in more and more remoted and inbred populations.
In accordance with Fraser Shilling, Director of the Highway Ecology Middle at UC Davis, the “undisputed capital of freeways and automobile tradition” in Southern California is a useless finish for mountain lions.
The information collected from CHP, Caltrans, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and UC scientists, was merged right into a geographic data system to supply a statewide map of deadly collisions between 2015 and 2022.
Nearly all of the strikes have been discovered alongside stretches of highways and freeways that attain past main inhabitants facilities, together with Southern California, the Bay Space, Central Coast, and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada vary.
The excellent news is that the annual variety of roadkills involving mountain lions has proven a slight downward pattern, whereas the quantity of auto site visitors stays unchanged. As an illustration, in 2022, 77 mountain lions have been killed by automobiles, in comparison with 92 in 2017. This might recommend that because the variety of mountain lions decreases in a given space, the chance of a collision decreases. Nevertheless, each time a mountain lion dies on the highway, it’s a tragedy.
Car strikes, city encroachment, rat poison, inbreeding, and wildfires are contributing to what scientists name an “extinction vortex.” There’s a 1 in 4 probability that mountain lions may develop into extinct within the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains inside the subsequent 50 years.
To handle this subject, California is taking motion. The Division of Fish and Wildlife is working to determine and prioritize wildlife motion boundaries and develop plans for wildlife crossings. One instance is the $87 million challenge at the moment below building over a 10-lane stretch of the 101 Freeway close to Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. Different harmful stretches embody I-5 over the Tehachapi Mountains, I-15 close to Temecula, State Route 91 in Orange County, State Route 74 by way of Santa Rosa Mountains, and I-8 in San Diego County.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Secure Roads and Wildlife Safety Act into regulation, which acquired bipartisan assist and requires Caltrans to determine boundaries to wildlife motion and prioritize crossing buildings when constructing or enhancing roads. It is a step in the best course, however extra must be completed to guard these lovely creatures from changing into roadkill.
It’s time for us to take motion and assist save California’s mountain lions. We will begin by slowing down and being extra cautious when driving, particularly in areas recognized for wildlife crossings.
We will additionally assist wildlife conservation organizations and advocate for insurance policies that prioritize the safety of wildlife. Collectively, we are able to make a distinction and be certain that mountain lions, like P-22, can roam freely and thrive of their pure habitats.
This text by Nicholas Vincent was first printed by OneGreenPlanet on 6 February 2023.
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