TWO MOUNTAIN LIONS KILLED BY VEHICLES IN CREST AND OCEANSIDE

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Oceanside mountain lion, via city surveillance video

March 13, 2024 (San Diego) -- Two mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles on local roadways so far this month.

On March 1 in Crest, a mountain lion was hit by a car in the early morning hours at the junction of Dehesa Road and Sloan Canyon Road. “My husband, on his way into San Diego, saw the cat along with others that had pulled over,” said Gloria Chadwick, a member of the Grossmont Healthcare District board of directors. After federal wildlife services removed the animal, she told ECM, “Someone has set up a little monument. The big cats have always been here in Dehesa and this recent one has been seen by lots of regular walkers.”

On March 10, a young male mountain lion, or cougar, was killed by a car in Oceanside near North River Road and Wilshire, NBC 7 reported. It is not yet known if the lion killed was the same one spotted in recent days in downtown Oceanside, trotting through the parking lot at City Hall and other areas, according to the California Fish and Wildlife Service.

Vehicles pose major threats to the big cats. According to a study by the University of California, Davis, 535 mountain lions were killed by vehicles on California highways between 2015 and 2022.

There are ways to reduce such deaths. Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in 2022 that requires the state to identify locations where barriers such as freeways prevent them from moving freely.  The new law also requires the state to prioritize building crossings to allow mountain lions and other wildlife to cross safely.

The world’s largest wildlife crossing is under construction in Los Angeles County in Agoura over Highway 101, and is expected to be completed next year. The action there comes after the highway death of the famous Hollywood Hills mountain lion known as P-22. Additional crossings are anticipated in California in the future.