Slaying of male mountain lion imperils Santa Monica Mountains population, experts say

A 4- to 5-year-old mountain lion recently was killed in California, officials say.

The male mountain lion, known as P-56, was living in the western Santa Monica Mountains, a National Park Service news release said. He was killed under a California Department of Fish & Wildlife depredation permit, NPS said.

Mountain lion hunting has been banned in California for 30 years. They can only be killed if a landowner gets a depredation permit after the animal hurts pets or livestock, the news release said.

If a mountain lion is hurting livestock or pets, the owners have to try other methods to deter the animal before they are allowed to kill it.

In this case, the landowner tried to bring in as many livestock as possible, penned remaining livestock close to the barn and houses, and added trained guard dogs, hot wire fencing, motion activated lights and radio hazing, the news release said.

“Over two years, this property owner had nine depredation incidents resulting in the loss of 12 animals,” NPS said.

NPS found out Jan. 27 that the mountain lion was killed.

Researchers with NPS have been looking at how the small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains have fared in a “highly fragmented region.”

“The loss of a breeding male is a concern for the study, especially when the population is already very small,” Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist for the project, said in the news release. “There are always animals out there that are not being tracked. Currently, there is only one adult male in the Santa Monica Mountains that we are tracking.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Slaying of male mountain lion imperils Santa Monica Mountains population, experts say."