3 Mountain Lions Spotted In Westlake Village

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA — The Lost Hills Sheriff’s station reported that three mountain lions were spotted early Tuesday morning in Westlake Village. The lions were reported near the 31600 block of Foxfield Dr., a residential street in Westlake Village.

Lost Hills deputies were not available for further comment.

The lions were spotted not far from where a mountain lion was found dead in Agoura Hills in Oct. 2017 after being exposed to multiple compounds of anticoagulant rodenticide, a form of rat poison, according to lab results.

A bill co-authored by Senator Henry Stern banning these rat poisons was signed into law by Gov. Newsom in September, and will take effect Jan. 1.

AB 1788, authored by Stern, Santa Monica Assemblyman Richard Bloom, and State Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, limits the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides statewide until the Department of Pesticide Regulations director certifies that specified measures have been taken to evaluate, restrict and use the poisons only when necessary, according to the governor's office.

Stern also worked to secure a $5 million grant from the state's Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) in August 2020 to fund the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing. The $88 million project would build a 200-foot long overpass across the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon to allow mountain lions and other endangered species to safely cross the 101 Freeway, a need demonstrated last week when a mountain lion was found dead on the freeway near Calabasas.

This past summer, National Park Service biologists reported that five mountain lion dens containing a total of 13 kittens have been discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills between May and August of 2020, marking the first time in an 18-year-study of the species that so many dens have been found within such a short time.

— City News Service and Patch staffer Michael Wittner contributed to this report.