Mountain Lions

MOUNTAIN LION EXPERT TO SPEAK JAN. 20 IN ALPINE

East County News Service

December 26, 2022 (Alpine) – Robin Parks, field representative with the Mountain Lion Foundation, will give a “Mountain Lions 101” presentation on January 20 at 1 p.m. in the Alpine branch of the San Diego County Library (1752 Alpine Blvd., Alpine). 

 

“Some of this interest has been prompted by the whole P-22 matter,” says Parks, referencing the mountain lion that gained fame for surviving in the Hollywood Hills before being euthanized at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park earlier this month due to injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle and other health conditions including a skullyfracture and kidney failure.  


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NEW MOUNTAIN LION ATTACK ON LIVESTOCK IN CARVEACRE NEAR ALPINE

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Allen Doran, near Carveacre

March 11, 2021 (Alpine) – Three weeks after a suspected mountain lion attack killed 10 sheep and goats on Peutz Valley Road in Alpine, residents of Carveacre in the Japatul/Alpine area report more livestock killings that they believe were the result of a mountain lion and at least one cub. 


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MOUNTAIN LION MAY HAVE KILLED LIVESTOCK IN ALPINE, INITIALLY INVESTIGATED AS ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE

East County News Service
 
Photo: CC by SA
 
March 7, 2021 (Alpine) -- A necropsy has determined that 10 farm animals found dead in Alpine last month may have been attacked by a mountain lion or another predatory animal, says Lt Anthony O’Boyle with the San Diego Sheriff’s department.

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LEGAL AGREEMENT PROTECTS CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE CORRIDOR FOR SANTA ANA MOUNTAIN LIONS

Source: Mountain Lion Foundation

Photo: Mountain lion at Lions, Tigers and Bears

October 26, 2020 (Temecula) --  Conservation groups approved a legal agreement today that will protect a critical wildlife corridor for local mountain lions and other wildlife, fund restoration efforts and ensure implementation of a regional conservation plan. The agreement comes after a judge issued a ruling this spring against the proposed 270-acre Altair development in Western Riverside County in California.

The agreement permanently protects the 55-acre “South Parcel” — a key part of one of the only passages left for endangered Santa Ana mountain lions to move between coastal and inland mountains. This lion population suffers from extremely low levels of genetic diversity due to limited wildlife connectivity.


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DYING MOUNTAIN LION CUB SAVED BY SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY'S PROJECT WILDLIFE IN RAMONA

East County News Service

October 7, 2020 (Ramona) -- An orphaned mountain lion cub who arrived at San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife — Ramona Campus in critical condition is finally feeling better after weeks of intensive care by medical staff.

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WITH UNANIMOUS VOTE, CALIFORNIA MOVES TO PROTECT IMPERILED MOUNTAIN LIONS

Source: Center for Biological Diversity
 
Photo credit: National Park Service. Female mountain lion, P-33, in the Santa Monica Mountains 
 
April 17, 2020 (Sacramento) -- In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 5-0 yesterday to advance Southern California and Central Coast mountain lions to candidacy under the state’s Endangered Species Act. The vote follows a February 2020 finding by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that increased protections may be warranted.
 
The unanimous vote triggers a year-long review by the department to determine if these populations should be formally protected under the Act. The Act’s protections apply during the candidacy period.
 
“This is a historic moment for California’s big cats and rich biodiversity,” said Tiffany Yap, a biologist at the Center and primary author of the petition. “These ecosystem engineers face huge threats that could wipe out key populations. But with state protections, we can start reversing course to save our mountain lions. Wildlife officials deserve a big round of applause for moving to protect these amazing animals.”
 

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MISSION TRAILS ANNOUNCES WORKSHOPS ON BIRD IDENTIFICATION AND MOUNTAIN LIONS

East County News Service
 
January 15, 2020 (San Diego)—Mission Trails Regional Park announces a series of bird identification workshops on Saturdays, Feb. 1, 8, 15, and 22 from 1-3 p.m. at a cost of $15 per session. 
 
In addition, on Thursday Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. a program on “Mystery cat: Southern Caifornia’s elusive mountain lion” will be presented in the visitors’ center at a $10 cost.
 
Bird identification: The bird identification workshops will be led by Millie Basden and include a guided in-field walk the following morning.  Learn to identify 50 common birds found in Mission Trails Regional Park as year-round residents or winter visitors.

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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST RENEE OWENS ON EFFORTS TO SAVE MOUNTAIN LIONS

 

Hear our interview: Click this audio link.

By Miriam Raftery

November 30, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Efforts are underway to declare mountain lions endangered species in portions of Southern California. “Their habitat is being fragmented,” wildlife biologist Renee Owens with Wild Zone Conservation told ECM in an interview on our radio show that originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM in October. 

In California, the number one cause of mortality for mountain lions is being struck by vehicles while crossing roadways.  In addition, some 200 depradation permits are issued each year in California allowing the killing of mountain lions, usually because they are preying on livestock. “Nationwide, we know that over 3,000 mountain lions a year are reported to have died,” Owens says.

The Mountain Lion Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity have petitioned the state to list mountain lions as protected because some isolated populations are “literally in danger of extinction.”  Owens says experts suspect this is also happening in San Diego, where recent numbers show the lions are “actually in decline," according to Owens.

Scroll down for highlights from the interview, or listen to the full interview on the audio link.

Audio: 

Audio file: Interview with Renee Owens on Mountain Lions

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READER'S EDITORIAL: CALIFORNIA MUST ACT TO PROTECT MOUNTAIN LIONS

By J.P. Ross and Tiffany Yap | CALmatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Mountain lion P-61 was struck and killed on the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass after being chased by another male cougar on Sept. 7, 2019. National Park Service photo

October 12, 2019 (San Diego's East County) - These are deadly times for California mountain lions.


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STATE ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION SOUGHT FOR MOUNTAIN LIONS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CENTRAL COAST

Some populations face extinction threat from freeways, sprawl, rat poison

 

East County News Service

 

Photo: National Park Service

 

June 25, 2019 (San Diego) -- The Center for Biological Diversity and Mountain Lion Foundation formally petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission today to protect mountain lions under the California Endangered Species Act.

 

The petition seeks protections for “gravely imperiled” cougar populations in Southern California and on the Central Coast, including all of San Diego County, the Eastern Peninsular Range as well as Santa Ana Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, and north along the coast to the Santa Cruz Mountains.


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STUDY: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S COASTAL MOUNTAIN LIONS HEADED FOR EXTINCTION

 

 

Big cats' habitat fragmentation highlights need for wildife crossings

Source:  Center for Biological Diversity

March 22, 2019 (Los Angeles) - Mountain lions in California’s Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains are heading rapidly toward extinction, a new study in Ecological Applications finds. Researchers with UCLA, UC Davis and the National Park Service found that habitat loss and fragmentation have driven the populations to dangerously low levels of genetic diversity.


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ANALYSIS: RAT POISON FOUND IN 85 PERCENT OF TESTED MOUNTAIN LIONS, BOBCATS, FISHERS

 

 

Poisonings prompt California to reassess super-toxic rodenticides 

 

East County New Service

 

Mountain lion photo courtesy USFWS

 

December 12, 2018 (La Mesa) -- A new state analysis has documented super-toxic rat poisons in more than 85 percent of tested mountain lions, bobcats and protected Pacific fishers, prompting state regulators to open a new evaluation of whether to further restrict or ban the powerful toxins.


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LIVING WITH LIONS: NOV. 18 AT RAMONA RANCH WINERY

 

East County News Service

November 14, 2017 (Ramona) - Shy, but by no means cowardly, our hills are alive with mountain lions. 

If you’re interested in learning about local wildlife, you’re invited to attend “Living with Lions” this Saturday, November 18th at 1 p.m. at the Ramona Ranch Winery. 

You’ll hear about local mountain lions roaming San Diego County in this special presentation by the Mountain Lion Foundation. In addition, learn about the Julian Project focused on increasing safety for people, pets, livestock and lions.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: LOVELY LIONS

 

East County News Service

September 18, 2016 (Palomar Mountain) — Jim Hamerly and Peggy McCauley Hamerly had some unexpected visitors at the home on Palomar Mountain.  They were eating breakfast at 7 a.m. when “these two young mountain lions sauntered by our home and stopped and just looked at us,” Jim posted on Facebook.


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LAKESIDE WOMAN SAYS MOUNTAIN LION KILLED DOG IN YARD

 
 
East County News Service
Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News
 
June 6, 2016 Lakeside) – A Lakeside resident has posted signs in her Eucalyptus Hills neighborhood warning that a mountain lion killed one of her pug dogs last Wednesday.

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MOUNTAIN LION LECTURE TODAY AT MISSION TRAILS



 

East County News Service

February 27, 2016 (San Diego) -- Join volunteer naturalist Don Endicott in the Visitor Center Theater at Mission Trails Regional Park on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. for a multi-media introduction to the natural history of the mountain lion, our region's seldom seen apex predator. 

His talk will describe the amazing attributes and signature behaviors of our big cats, show how relationships between mountain lions and people changed over time, and outline their key contributions to a healthy wilderness environment.


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MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTED IN LEMON GROVE

 

By Miriam Raftery

December 24, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – A mountain lion has been sighted in Lemon Grove this Christmas eve morning. “Deputies met with the reporting party, who took a picture of what appeared to be a mountain lion,” said Sgt. Matt Cook with the Sheriff’s Lemon Grove substation.  The animal was apparently lying in the bushes of a vacant lot just west of the Food4Less at 7420 Broadway, the main street through the town of Lemon Grove.

The witness saw the mountain lion at 7:30 a.m. but didn’t report it until nearly 9 a.m.  Deputies searched for the big cat but did not find it.


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HUMANE SOCIETY LEADS EFFORT TO OUST CA FISH & GAME PRESIDENT OVER MOUNTAIN LION SHOOTING

March 6, 2012 (Sacramento) -- In January, California Fish and Game Commission president Dan Richards shot a mountain lion on a guided hunt in Idaho, after dogs drove the big cat up a tree. A guide took a picture of Richards smiling as he held up the slain animal. Richards sent it to a hunting newspaper, which posted the photo.


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HOTLINE LAUNCHED FOR MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTINGS


August 21, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Department of Fish & Game has launched a new hotline phone number for reporting mountain lion sightings at (951)443-2944.

 

What happens when a lion sighting is reported?

 


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RESIDENTS REACT TO NEWS OF MOUNTAIN LION IN RANCHO SAN DIEGO

 

Lions are attracted by deer and other prey.  Learn how to plant deer-proof landscaping and protect yourself when living or hiking in lion territory.


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MOUNTAIN LION PROMPTS LOCKDOWN OF JAMACHA ELEMENTARY


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MOUNTAIN LION ATTACK ON DOG SUSPECTED IN SPRING VALLEY

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

November 3, 2010 (Spring Valley) – Yesterday Paul and Deanna Stevens informed East County Magazine that they believe that a mountain lion is responsible for recent animal attacks on Steele Canyon Road in Spring Valley, not far from Steele Canyon High School.

 


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SAFE HAVEN FOR MOUNTAIN LIONS PLANNED IN ALPINE

 

LIONS, TIGERS & BEARS IS RAISING FUNDS TO CREATE A COUGAR CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION STATION


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