Mountain Lion Killed on Malibu Canyon Road
A male mountain lion collared by the
National Park Service was found fatally injured Tuesday morning
on Malibu Canyon Road near Tunnel One, according to
authorities.
An NPS spokesperson said the young male
named P-9 was apparently hit by a vehicle on the canyon
roadway.
“We are pretty sure it was hit by a
car,” said Charles Taylor, a spokesperson for the Park
Service, who said the big cat’s body was on the
roadway pavement.
The remains were turned over to the state
Department of Fish and Game for a necropsy.
Besides the official cause of death, park
officials want to determine whether the animal had consumed
traces of chemical anti-coagulants.
The substances, often used in many types of
rodent poisons, are now thought to have found their way up the
predator food chain to the top level and may be killing off
animals. “We can’t check that in a mountain lion
until a necropsy is performed, “ Taylor said.
P-9 was collared on May 15 with a tracking
device and had recently been observed traveling through
Malibu Creek State Park and Santa Ynez Canyon located near
Topanga Canyon State Park.
Taylor said they do not believe it is the
same cougar that was spotted on the Pepperdine University
campus several weeks ago.
The dead cat is believed to have been two
or three years old and was not one of the kittens born to a
female that was killed during a fight with a larger male lion
over a year ago.
With the demise of P-9, it is estimated
that the current population of mountain lions in the Santa
Monica Mountains is four.
There are two females, one male and another
so-called mystery cat. There have been six recorded deaths of
the cougars, according to Taylor, over the past four years.
Repeated sightings of smaller, uncollared
mountain lions has led some observers to think that new animals
are managing to traverse populated areas, and even freeways, to
join the gene pool in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Without this potential for diversity, the
big cats will continue to face difficult odds of healthy
survival in an increasingly inhospitable environment.
