3 Mountain Lions Spotted Roaming Topanga Neighborhood
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Three mountain lions were caught on security video strolling together through a Topanga neighborhood early Thursday morning.
The video showed the mountain lions casually walking along a home's driveway on Encina Road just before 4 a.m.
The homeowner who provided CBSLA the security video said in an email that the home is not isolated, but is surrounded by several other homes.
Topanga is located in the Santa Monica Mountains, which is home to dozens of mountain lions.
Mountain lion populations in Southern California have become increasingly threatened by rat poisons, residential development, habitat loss, wildfires, inbreeding and isolation. Since 2002, at least 21 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles, according to the National Park Service. The latest such incident occurred on Sept. 23, when a mountain lion was found dead on the 101 Freeway in Calabasas.
Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law banning certain toxic rat poisons, a move which environmental advocates hope will protect mountain lion populations.
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Researchers say mountain lion populations in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains could go extinct within the next 50 years. To help combat this, the California Department of Transportation is working on a plan to build an $87 million wildlife crossing along the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills.
In April, the California Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted to move forward with a process that would culminate with declaring mountain lions that roam Southern California and the Central Coast as an endangered species.
