Meet P-95! Healthy Young Puma Collared In Santa Monica Mountains

LOS ANGELES, CA — After a difficult couple of years that saw the deaths of several mountain lions from rat poison, ill-fated freeway crossings, and one state-sanctioned shooting, the National Park Service has a new lion to track in the Santa Monica Mountains.

This week the National Park Service introduced P-95, a young, healthy male, recently captured and tagged. He's now one of 10 collared cats left in the region.

"New year, new cat! Welcome to our puma family - P-95!, the National Park Service announced on its Facebook page. "This young male mountain lion was captured in the central Santa Monica Mountains on January 16. He was found to be in good condition, is estimated to be about a year and a half old and weighed 90 lbs. at the time of his capture. While biologists were conducting the welfare check, "chirping" was heard nearby and another cat was later spotted. Biologists believe P-95 is likely still traveling with a sibling or its mother."

P-95 received a full welfare check and was found to be in good shape. Scientists took blood, tissue, and other biological samples, tagged P-95 and let him go.

According to the park service, there are now seven radio-collared mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, two in the Simi Hills and the famed Griffith Park cat.

Scientists have been capturing and collaring cats since 2002, documenting a hard existence for a puma population hemmed in by freeways and suffering the effects of inbreeding.

"Since that time, we have been studying mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains to determine how they survive in a fragmented and urbanized environment."

The park service's announcement came the same day a campaign to create a wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway announced it had raised $18 million of the $87 million needed to build the bridge. Construction is slated for 2022. The corridor is seen as vital to connect islands of wildlife and stave off the extinction of LA's pumas.

Such a corridor is especially necessary for young male lions such as P-95. The cats require large territories, and young males have been killed crossing LA's freeways in search of a mate. One such lion made it across the 405 (San Diego) Freeway two years ago only to be chased back onto the freeway by a dominant male lion from the other side. The nighttime chase was caught on camera, and it ended when the younger lion died trying to cross the freeway again to escape the pursuing cat.

SEE ALSO:

• Legendary Lion Dies Trying To Cross The 405 Freeway Again
• Video Shows Lion Stalked By Larger Lion Before Fatal 405 Crossing
• Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing Raises $18 Million