Mountain lion near L.A. found dead; 'human causes' suspected
Mountain lion P-47.
A collared mountain lion known as P-47 in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles was found dead, the apparent victim of rat poison.
National Park Service biologists tracked down the body on March 21 after the GPS collar sent out a mortality signal, and subsequent lab tests showed the 3-year-old male had been exposed to six different anticoagulant rodenticide compounds, the National Park Service announced Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s unfortunate to see an otherwise healthy mountain lion lost from what appears to be human causes,” said Seth Riley, wildlife ecologist for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “In P-47’s case, it’s also a big loss because we don’t believe he had yet mated and passed along his genes, which would have been valuable since he had ancestry from north of the Santa Monicas.”
Mountain lion P-47’s GPS collar sent out a mortality signal and biologists tracked down the body.
The California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab found that the mountain lion suffered internal hemorrhaging in his head and lungs. No visible wounds were found.
Of the 22 local mountain lions that have been tested, 21 were found to have the presence of anticoagulant rodenticide compounds. Mountain lion P-64, which died a few weeks after the Woolsey Fire, had six different anticoagulant compounds in its liver.
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Last year, in an effort to prevent deaths such as this one, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund launched an educational campaign called #BreakThePoisonChain to raise awareness about the negative impacts of rat poison used by local residents for rodent control.
“Although it’s not known exactly how P-47 ingested the poisons, researchers believe mountain lions are exposed through secondary or tertiary poisoning, meaning that they consume an animal that ate the bait, such as a ground squirrel, or an animal that ate an animal that consumed the bait, such as a coyote,” the National Park Service said.
Officials encourage the local residents to use an alternative method for controlling rodents.
Photos of mountain lion P-47 and illustration courtesy of the National Park Service.