LA's Sprawl Putting Mountain Lions In Jeopardy

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  — The mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains will have great difficulty surviving in years to come, according to a new study.

The problem is due to urban development and Los Angeles' freeway expansion and improvements that prevent mountain lions from accessing other areas to mate with each other.

Wildlife ecologist John Benson, from the Los Angeles Kretz Center for California Conservation Science at UCLA tells KNX 1070 unless a way is found to help them make a transition from one area to another, extinction could be just decades away.

Researchers from the National Park Service, UCLA and others are trying to determine how to get the fathering mountain lions across the 101 Freeway safely.

Right now they are doing well but the small number of mountain lions needs new mates to help it sustain its genetic diversity. Benson says the birth of just one  lion every two to four years will help maintain the population.

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