Animal Crossing: Road bridge aims to save California cougars July 7, 2024

The wildlife crossing, which local plants will cover, aims to provide safe passage for mountain lions.

By AFP -Agence France Presse

Animal Crossing: Road bridge aims to save California cougars

Paula RAMON

Hollywood stars aren't the only celebrities living in the hills around Los Angeles - the mountain lions of Southern California live there too, and sometimes they're almost as famous.

The animal, also known as the cougar, is the largest predator in the region, and spotting them is a hobby for locals.

A 2013 photograph of the much-loved but unimaginative P-22 before the Hollywood sign cemented the creature's place in the popular imagination.

However, the image also highlighted the difficulties faced by a species whose habitat has been invaded by people, as well as the increasing risks of extreme weather events caused by man-made climate change.

Mountain lions "have lived here forever and now we're building homes and facilities on their property," Andy Blue, of the San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center, told AFP.

"So it's inevitable that there will be interaction between them."

One of the most ambitious efforts to reduce humanity's impact on mountain lions is taking shape northwest of Los Angeles: the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

The first phase of the project, due to open in 2025, will see the completion of a wildlife bridge over 10 lanes of Highway 101, one of the busiest roads in Southern California, with more than 300,000 daily travelers.

"When Highway 101 was built in this area about 60 years ago, it had the unintended consequence of separating all of the Santa Monica Mountains" from another nearby mountain range, said Lauren Gill, the National Wildlife Federation's deputy director for California.

This separation created what Gill called an "island of habitat, isolated from all the wilderness to the north".

- 'Vortex of extinction' - you

The consequences of this highway were significant for the region's wildlife.

As well as decreasing the genetic diversity of several native species, it has also significantly reduced the mountain lions' usual habitat for hunting and breeding, putting the animal at risk of an "extinction vortex", Gill explained.

The wildlife crossing, which will be covered by local plants, aims to remedy the problem by reconnecting the mountains, providing a safe passage for cougars and other animals in the region.

"You wouldn't think the birds would need the help of a wildlife crossing," said Gill.

"But we have some smaller birds, like the wrentit, that are native to this area, and they are so small that the wind currents generated by the highway make it impossible for them to cross."

Once completed, the $80 million project will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world, according to the organizers.

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The need for a protected zone like the crossing is evident at the Ramona Wildlife Center, where all kinds of animals, from raccoons to bears, are treated so that they can regain their strength after being sick, orphaned, or injured.

Blue said that mountain lions come into their care for a variety of reasons, but the majority stem from "human-wildlife conflicts".

"One to two mountain lions are run over every week in California, and that's the number one reason for mountain lion deaths in the state," he said, adding that the public needs to be better educated on how to interact with the animals.

In June, an animal that was treated at the center was released back into the mountains near Los Angeles.

Wildlife photographer Johanna Turner, who uses remote cameras to capture animals in their natural habitat, said it doesn't take much to make the area around Los Angeles safer for mountain lions.

"I just want people to know how lucky they are to have this wilderness, and that it could disappear," Turner said from a hill overlooking the city skyline. "It could end very quickly."

When P-22 died in December 2022, the expression of grief turned out to be a wake-up call for Los Angeles.

Then, last month, as often happens in Tinseltown, a new star was born when a Hollywood Hills resident captured images of another mountain lion before it disappeared into Griffith Park.

"We're so used to tragic stories about wildlife that we have to give up and say, 'This is a city...'. It can't be like this here,'" said Turner.

"The P-22 showed us that it is possible."

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