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 […]
Tag: mountain lion
Advocates Raise Millions for Wildlife Bridge in Los Angeles
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 […]
POLL: Should Arizona’s wild cats be protected from trophy hunters?
Voters in Arizona could soon have the chance to protect wild cats in the state from being senselessly killed for sport thanks to a ballot measure that was just launched in the state. Arizonans for Wildlife, a coalition of dozens of animal advocacy and conservation organizations and state lawmakers, recently filed a ballot initiative with […]
A Big Win in Our Battle Against Wildlife Services’ Tax-Funded Killing
On Aug. 9, 2017 Superior Court Judge Lydia Villarreal found in favor of a coalition of wildlife protection groups, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund, in its challenge to Monterey County, California’s contract renewal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. The judge’s decision is a win for wildlife in Monterey, and a warning […]
Human Voices Are Enough to Send Mountain Lions Running
Large carnivores tend to instill fear in us, whether it’s based on myth, or simply a healthy respect for apex predators. But as it turns out, just the sound of our voices is enough to send them running — at least in the case of mountain lions. “We exposed pumas in the Santa Cruz mountains […]
Missing orphaned L.A. mountain lion cub found alive and well
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 […]
POLL: Should Trump disband USDA Wildlife “Killing” Services?
Despite persistent outrage from the public, the U.S. government killed 2.7 million wild animals in 2016 — and almost 1.6 million were native wildlife, according to data released this week. That’s roughly five animals every minute. Even after scientific investigations by a team of ecologists cast serious doubts around the necessity of these killings, Wildlife […]
Mountain lion kitten spotted near Los Angeles fuels conservation hopes
Conservationists are celebrating after sighting a young mountain lion they did not know existed amid a tiny, threatened population of the animals in the hills around Los Angeles. Wildlife experts were amazed both that they had not previously spotted the animal and that it was alive at all. The kitten survived a spate of recent […]