A 3-year-old mountain lion, the mom of two cubs, was struck and killed by a car on State Route 74 in San Juan Capistrano, in keeping with the UC Davis California Carnivores Program.
The 2 cubs, one male and one feminine, are 14 months outdated — basically adolescents within the mountain lion life cycle. They have been nonetheless being sorted by their shy, small mom, dubbed F390, on the time of her demise on Sept. 4. The cubs would doubtless have stayed together with her for a couple of extra months, studying the best way to hunt and navigate, earlier than occurring to stay independently, in keeping with Fernando Nájera, director of this system.
“It’s a crucial time of their lives,” Nájera mentioned. “They’ve rather a lot to be taught in a brief time frame and now they’re doing it with out a mama.”
Nájera and his workforce efficiently collared F390’s feminine cub on the night of Sept. 20, outfitting her with the identical form of GPS monitoring gadget they placed on her mom to allow them to comply with her actions and see how she fares within the wake of dropping her mother. The cub’s ID quantity is F436.
“It will enable us to see how she’s doing and tell us if we’ve to place any measures in place to facilitate her survival,” he mentioned.
Nájera mentioned visitors is the first menace to Southern California mountain lions, whose habitat has been fragmented and bisected by roads and highways. An estimated 100 mountain lions are killed by vehicles and vehicles every year, in keeping with the 2024 Roadkill Report carried out by scientists at UC Davis.
The California Carnivores Program was based in 2001 to concentrate on Southern California mountain lion conservation, however has since expanded to incorporate different carnivore species. As a part of its work, the group places GPS gadgets on mountain lions to trace their actions throughout the state. The analysis is utilized in half to tell freeway planners and conservation organizations on the best way to forestall vehicular deaths just like the one which befell F390. The group is at present monitoring 5 people — one male and 4 females, together with F436.
F390 had efficiently crossed Freeway 74 a number of occasions earlier than her demise. Nájera mentioned her loss demonstrates the need of making secure crossings for wildlife in California.
Identified variously because the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway, the Pines to Palms Freeway and the Ortega Freeway, State Route 74 runs from San Juan Capistrano in Orange County to Palm Desert in Riverside County.
