“This is something we hoped to never see,” said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area and an expert on local mountain lion populations. AdvertisementRecent scientific studies suggest there’s an almost 1-in-4 chance that Southern California mountain lions could become extinct in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountain ranges within 50 years. In the Santa Ana Mountains, the 15 freeway limits the movement of a family of 20 cougars. A few days later, another male mountain lion, also with a kinked tail, was recorded on a remote camera in the same area. AdvertisementThey underscore the results of extensive genetic analyses conducted over the past two decades: Cougars in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains south of Los Angeles have the lowest levels of genetic diversity ever documented in the West, said Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 10, 2020 21:22 UTC