National Park Service is tracking its 99th Mountain Lion for an ongoing study of the Santa Monica Mountains

The National Park Service successfully captured its 99th Mountain Lion as part of an ongoing investigation into the group of big cats that inhabit the Santa Monica Mountains.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Mother cat P-99

The mother cat, nicknamed P-99, is estimated to be 2 to 3 years old and was discovered in the western Santa Monica Mountains, according to valet officials.

According to a valet service Instagram post that included a photo of the young mountain lion, after her capture on Sept. 8, she underwent a full exam that included a visual exam, collecting biological samples, performing a physical exam, and equipping with a satellite radio collar.

P-99 is currently part of a National Park Service study conducted in 2002 to find out how cougars living in and near the Santa Monica Mountains inhabit a city surrounded by dangerous roads and urban development.

According to Ana Beatriz Cholo, a communications officer for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, the study’s coverage is closer to the coast of the 405 Freeway and north of the 101 Freeway, and does not include Simi Hills and even beyond.

While the exact number of pumas in the area is unknown, Cholo estimates that the area can feed 10 to 15 mountain lions at any given time, excluding kittens, “because they need prey they need their territory and the males usually need quite a bit of space” – between 150 and 200 square miles. Using GPS collars, officials now keep an eye on 13 mountain lions in the area.

Also read: Mountain lions are afraid of one thing – the sound of a human voice

The study

Even some of the lions who participated in nearly two decades of research have died, but their legacy continues in the vital data gathered by scientists and others who monitor the giant animals.

“We learned so much,” Cholo said, adding that the study’s results were used to build a wildlife bridge over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills that will allow mountain lions to explore new habitats and to mate biologically diverse Find motorists on the busy freeway while avoiding speeding.

Caltrans plans to begin construction on the $ 87 million bridge at Liberty Crossing early next year. The lion community has been plagued by significant crossbreeds, officials claimed, as habitat broken down has prevented them from advancing into new areas.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Genetic diversity

According to DNA research, lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, as well as another limited group in the Santa Ana Mountains south of Los Angeles, have “the lowest genetic diversity ever documented in the west.”

According to the service, the only group with lower species variability was found in South Florida in the mid-1990s, when the state’s cat community was on the verge of extinction.

According to scientists, the increasing intermingling begins to show up as physical defects. P-81, a mountain lion with a curled, L-shaped tail yet a descending testicle, was discovered in March 2020. Several mountain lions with obvious deformities have also been seen, according to Cholo.

At the time, it was described as a “major discovery” by Jeff Sikich, a National Park Service wildlife biologist, who added that this highlights the need for action to better serve this species. Even so, the mountain lions are not all unhappy.

Related article: Rare mountain lions sighted in Kansas

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