A mountain lion’s carcass was found Saturday morning on Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, not far from a wildlife crossing built to reduce mountain lion deaths.
The mountain lion’s carcass was found in the far right lane of the highway near Liberty Canyon Road around 5 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Police moved the cougar to the shoulder of the highway and enlisted the help of California Fish and Wildlife, which confirmed Saturday morning that the carcass had been collected to collect DNA.
The cougar was not wearing a monitoring collar and was killed near the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, said Beth Pratt, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation. is a $92 million thoroughfare spanning a busy 10-lane highway. Probably hit by a car; she said there was fresh blood on the highway. She said little else is known about the mountain lion, including its age or sex.
On June 15, 2024, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing was being constructed in Agoura Mountain, the same day that another mountain lion was killed less than a half-mile from the southbound Highway 101 crossing above Liberty Canyon Road. The place was hit by a car.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
“Obviously we have a solution, but it couldn’t come soon enough for this cat,” Platt said. “This is just another stern reminder: This is the right place [for the crossing]”.
Construction of the wildlife crossing begins in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Platt said there are already signs that other animals are using the passage, and officials hope to begin adding soil and plants to the passage by the end of the year to blend it into the environment and create a safe space for the animals.
June 15, 2024 Construction of the Wallis-Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is underway in Agoura Mountain. Car hit.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
In January, Uno, a female mountain lion that patrolled the Orange County mountains, was struck and killed by a car on a road near Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve. The puma, identified as F312, was tagged by researchers in 2021, when she was about 2 years old.
The National Park Service announced that in January 2023, mountain lion P-81 died on the Pacific Coast Highway, possibly after being struck by a car. The remains of the 4-year-old male cougar were collected on the PCH near Las Pozas Road in Ventura County.
In July 2022, P-89, a 2-year-old male mountain lion, was struck and killed by a car on Highway 101 in Woodland Hills. About a month ago, a 5-year-old female mountain lion was killed by a car in the Santa Monica Mountains.
