News Release

Mountain lion P-97 killed by vehicle strike

Mountain lion P-97 taken by a trail camera.

NPS

News Release Date: April 21, 2022

Contact: Ana Beatriz Cholo

We’re sorry to report that P-97, an 18-month-old male mountain lion, was struck and killed on the southbound 405 Freeway near the Getty Center at around 1 a.m. today. 

He was picked up by Caltrans and was taken to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. His radio collar was not located, but the study animal was identified via ear tag. GPS points showed that he had been in the area earlier in the evening.

P-97 had recently dispersed from his mother, P-54, and was presumably setting off in search of finding a territory to call his own. Recently, he had been roaming around the eastern edge of the Santa Monica Mountains including along the 405. Biologists last captured him on Jan. 11, 2022, to replace his GPS radio collar.

P-97 is the fourth mountain lion known to have been killed in this general area of the 10-lane 405 Freeway.

In the summer of 2019, P-61, a young male, had successfully crossed the 405 Freeway and made it to the east side in Bel Air. Ultimately, video footage captured him getting chased by an older, uncollared male mountain lion. Minutes later, P-61 was struck by traffic and killed on the 405. He had managed to run across at least five lanes of traffic but ended up dead in the southbound lanes.

P-18, a young male, was hit by a car in 2011 in this area. In 2009, an uncollared male mountain lion was also killed on the 405 Freeway.

In our two decades of studying mountain lions, this is the 26th mountain lion and the 9th collared study cat to be killed by a vehicle. Currently, we are tracking 12 mountain lions in the region.

NPS has been studying mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains for the last two decades to determine how they survive in a fragmented and urbanized environment. CDFW is responsible for overseeing the management and conservation of mountain lions in the state.
 

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.