The adult male mountain lion known as P-63, who’s found a way to cross the 101 freeway, has brought hopeful genetic diversity from the Simi Hills region into the Santa Monica Mountains.
The local mountain lion population is under increasing pressure from urbanization and development, but with plans such as the wildlife corridor in Agoura Hills, and the ongoing California Fish and Game’s review of whether to offer official state protection to the state’s six genetically distinct cougar sub-populations, we could soon see less inbreeding and vehicular deaths, and a slow but stable rebound for our lions.
Read more here from the Los Angeles Times.
