A group called Defend Ballona Wetlands has sued the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). Molly Bassler, a Climate Reality Project leader with the Los Angeles chapter, and Robert van de Hoek, a wildlife biologist, are joining it in the suit. The litigants are challenging the CDFW’s approval of a project they say would […]
Crew 12 of the Ventura County Fire Department had an unexpected surprise on Sunday, November 3, while patrolling an area adjacent to the then-active Maria Fire just north of Los Angeles: a Great Horned Owl hopping along the ground in the ashes. It’s unusual to spy the nocturnal birds during daylight, and even odder to […]
When two mountain lion kittens were discovered in a remote den in the Santa Monica Mountains three years ago, there were concerns about their ability to survive in this challenging environment. Although a wildlife corridor across the busy 101 Freeway is in the planning stages, I wondered back in January 2016 if it would it […]
Animal advocates are celebrating some major progress for animals in Los Angeles, which is about to become the biggest city yet to act to ban fur. This week, the City Council voted unanimously to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would ban both the manufacturing and sale of fur products, which would […]
One of the most well-known mountain lions in the Los Angeles area was P-41, famous for safely crossing a busy freeway and making his home in the Verdugo Mountains northeast of the city. Tragically, the 10-year-old mountain lion’s good luck ran out in October. His noticeably thin body was discovered a few days after a […]
There are 17 acres of open land in the Hollywood Hills that provide a crucial corridor for wildlife like mountain lions, bobcats and deer. But, as I wrote in October 2015, that land was in danger of being subdivided into a housing development with four mansions, destroying the corridor. This would be devastating for local […]
It’s not an easy life for the mountain lions and other animals that make their home in the Santa Monica Mountains. Because they’re so isolated, Los Angeles mountain lions are almost 100 percent likely to become extinct in 50 years due to inbreeding, which can cause health problems and unusual behavior. Leaving their territory is […]
When three mountain lion cubs were discovered with their mother, P-39, in the Los Angeles area last July, experts were concerned about the cubs’ chances for survival. Among the threats to mountain lions living in the Santa Monica Mountains are death due to ingesting rat poison, health issues caused by inbreeding, and, most dangerously, the […]