Blaine Chiappetta
Staff Writer
Mountain lion, puma, cougar, catamount, panther – whatever you call it, the future of these big cats in the Santa Monica Mountains is uncertain to say the least.
In 2004 things started looking up for pumas in the area. P1 (puma 1), the last known adult male in the area, had successfully mated with P2. This led to a litter of four kittens.
This was exciting news for the researchers monitoring them. The successful mating of P1 and P2 was perhaps the last hope for future generations of pumas in the area. It also allowed for the continuation of an experiment that is studying the effects of urbanization on mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains.
This study has shown just how dangerous the urbanization of puma territory can be. Since the project’s beginning in 2002, six mountain lions have died, including three of the kittens born from P1 and P2.
A team of researchers are monitoring the pumas. Among them are Seth Riley, head biologist of the study, and Ray Sauvajot, chief of planning, science and resource management for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA). They keep tabs on the cats with GPS transmitters, placed in collars on the adults and implanted in the abdomens of the kittens.
The birth of the kittens increased the number of pumas being tracked in the Santa Monica Mountains from four to eight. This number, up until recently, included P1, P2, and two other adult lions P3 and P4. The kittens – two male and two female – are named P5, P6, P7 and P8.
But because of the limited area that the pumas have to live in, researchers knew even at the birth that some of the litter would not survive. The lack of space interferes with the very nature of the puma’s existence – where territory is claimed by lone lions, not by families.
Pumas have a family structure very different from people. In fact, after mating it’s ideal that the male never sees the female again. The father often never sees his offspring, and wouldn’t be able to tell his kittens apart from any other puma. He continues his life alone, guarding his turf.
The kittens stay with their mother for about 18 to 24 months of their 10-12-year lifespan. After this time, in which the mother has taught all of the essential means of survival, the lions separate to claim their own territory.
It’s because of the space needed for each lion that conflicts arise. Pumas need an average of about 100 square miles each, which presents problems for this family living in the roughly 300-square-mile area. Pumas will kill each other if necessary to keep their turf to themselves – the food supply will dwindle too quickly if lions shared their grounds.
And so, in July, P1 confronted and killed P6, his daughter. Although opposite sexes sometimes share their territory with one another, for some reason this encounter escalated into a fight.
“It’s possible that P1 was attempting to mate and the encounter turned fatal,” said SMMNRA superintendent Woody Smeck to reporters at The Acorn.
Not long after that, P1 killed again. This time it was his son P5 who died. This is common when males have overlapping territories – there just isn’t enough room for two.
The two kittens had left their mother by this time because she too had been killed by P1, in August 2005. While the reason behind the killing is uncertain, park officials maintain that P2 was likely killed by P1 while protecting a kill for her cubs.
Two other adult lions in the area, male P3 and female P4, have also died recently. The deaths were a result of ingesting anticoagulants.
“Anticoagulants are chemicals found in rat poisons which cause an animal to slowly bleed to death internally,” said Karen Cotton, director of outreach at the Mountain Lion Foundation. Anticoagulants prevent the blood from clotting, which makes small cuts potentially fatal.
While these chemicals are intended to kill rodents, the poison seems to kill larger animals by climbing up the food chain. While pumas mostly feed on deer, they have been known to eat coyotes, raccoons, birds, fish and rodents. It’s thought that the poisoned rodents were consumed by coyotes, who in turn ingested the poison themselves. Then P3 and P4 ate the poisoned coyotes, which led the anticoagulants into their systems as well.
The most recent puma killing occurred on Sep. 25. The body of P8, the last son of P1, was found with a broken leg and several puncture wounds. The wounds indicate that P8 was killed by another mountain lion – but tracking indicates that P1 was nowhere near the area at the time of death.
“Thus we are nearly certain that another mountain lion, probably a male, is in the Santa Monica Mountains,” Sauvajot told The Acorn.
The death of P8 leaves only one surviving offspring of P1 – his daughter P7. However, the news of another puma in the area seems promising.
“We have always said that just because these are the only lions we’re following, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any other lions in the area,” Riley told the Ventura County Star. “But we certainly don’t think there are very many more. It will be very interesting to see what happens now.”
All in all, it’s been an eventful past few years for the mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. While the birth of the kittens sparked hopes for the future survival of pumas in the area, it seems that in order for that to happen there needs to be more land.
There was talk of possibly building a tunnel under the 101 freeway, allowing the pumas passage into the Simi Hills to the north. The tunnel would allow the pumas to reach the many acres of undeveloped land without having to try crossing the freeway. This would give the lions the space they need to properly procreate. It could cost around $2 million and several years to complete if approved.
There are now at least three mountain lions in the area. This includes the two remaining from the initial eight being tracked – P1 and P7 – as well as the newly discovered puma which has yet to be radio-collared.
Within the past four years, six mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains have died. This track record seems a dim foreboding as to what the future may hold for our local mountain lion.
Fact Box:
The Mountain Lion Foundation offers a few tips for those who live, work or recreate in cougar habitat. While encounters with cougars are rare, these safety precautions can enhance the safety of you and your loved ones if approached:
1) Always be aware of your surroundings. Attend to children and dependants accordingly.
2) Landscape for safety – remove vegetation that provides cover for cougars and that will attract wildlife like deer, the cougar’s primary source of food.
3) Don’t feed wildlife or leave pet food outside.
4) Keep pets secure – roaming pets are easy prey for cougars.
5) Confine and secure all livestock.
6) Don’t approach a cougar – they tend to avoid humans if given ample time and space to avoid contact
7) Supervise children and educate them about cougars and other wildlife.
8) Always hike, backpack and camp in wild areas with a companion.
9) Never run past or from a cougar, which may trigger their instinct to chase. Stand your ground and maintain eye contact.
10) Never bend over or crouch down – it may cause you to resemble a four-legged animal and exposes the neck and back of the head.
11) If approached by a cougar, make yourself appear larger and more aggressive – raise your arms, throw stones, speak loudly and slowly.
12) Remain standing to protect your head and neck. If attacked, fight back using whatever is available to you – rocks, clothing, tools, branches, or, if nothing else, your bare hands.
12-02-2006
