The Future Is Pretty Grim For LA’s Mountain Lions

Mountain lions living in Santa Monica Mountains may go extinct within the next 50 years if steps are not taken to protect their population.

The threat of extinction faced by mountain lions inhabiting the Santa Monica Mountains of Greater Los Angeles has attracted researchers’ attention.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2bB8tcI ) that wildlife researchers gave the lions a 99.7 percent chance of dying out over the next 50 years unless more cats are brought in. KPCC says they’re in a “genetic prison” that forces them to inbreed.

Decreasing genetic variability would reportedly become evident in as few as 15 years.

According to the National Park Service, which has placed Global Positioning System tracking collars on more than 30 mountain lions in order to study their behavior, the mountain lions of the Santa Monica Mountains have relatively low genetic diversity compared to other mountain lions in the rest of the state, largely due to being fenced in by roads.

The lions are isolated from other lions in neighboring wildlands by the 101 Freeway, eight to 10 lanes of some of the heaviest traffic in the United States. Since no new pumas can enter, and the ones inside are hemmed in, breeding has remained very limited, and the gene pool has not diversified. It is not unusual for two males in the group to mate with their own offspring. It’s causing “inbreeding depression”.

Wild panthers in Florida were in a similar situation 20 years ago. Riley said UC Davis and UCLA scientists may focus their next study on Orange County mountain lions. The Florida panthers almost went extinct due to low biodiversity. It then led to Florida lions forming holes in their hearts while the males became sterile.

Follow me on Twitter seangreene89 and “like” Los Angeles Times Science on Facebook. This would be used by the lions as well as bobcats and other animals.

A rendering of the proposed wildlife overpass above the 101 Freeway near Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. It is subject to a National Wildlife Federation fundraising effort called “Save LA Cougars”.

“The long-term survival of a mountain lion population here depends on their ability to move between regions to maintain genetic diversity and overall population health”, the National Park Service said in a statement. This population may be subject to a study from scientists.

An adult male mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains. If one new lion could be introduced every 2.5 years, the likelihood of extinction falls dramatically. This is due to the high-quality habitat provided by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.