Male Mountain Lion Loses Life Due To New California Law

(Photo Credit: National Park Service)

Mountain lion loses life under depredation law

Under the state’s depredation law, a mountain lion found in the Santa Monica Mountains was killed, according to the National Park service.

The lion, about 4 to 5 years of age and named “P-56,” lived in the western region of the mountains south of Highway 101. A local property owner killed him on Jan. 27. Over the past two years, that same property owner reported nine attacks from the mountain lion that resulted in the loss of 12 animals.

The NPS stated that mountain lions are designated by California as a “specially protected mammal” and hunting the animals has been banned since 1990. However, in December 2017, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife implemented a “three-strike” policy allowing property owners to kill the lions if they kill or injure livestock or pets. But, property owners can only do so after using “non-lethal means” to deter the lion.

The lion that was killed was male, and because the population of mountain lions in Santa Monica is already small, the NPS expressed concern for a study they have been conducting over the past 18 years. The male was a breeder in the herd and the only other adult male lion in the Santa Monica Mountains is P-63.

By: Maytinee Kramer