The late Puma P-22, a celebrity from Griffith Park, worked night shifts to avoid the hordes of hikers, bikers, and vagrants that frequented his home in central Los Angeles, a pattern similar to that found elsewhere in the area. A new study reveals that it’s also been replicated in mountain lions.
According to researchers at the University of California, Davis and other institutions who conducted the study, the postponement of the schedule means that the species will It is a reassuring example of people playing a role in coexistence in a megacity.
But experts say their temporary gymnastics can come at a cost, consuming energy and limiting the time they can spend on important tasks such as hunting. And that can further exacerbate other urban stressors, such as traffic congestion and rat poison.
The study, published last month in the journal Biological Conservation, found that in popular recreational areas, Southland mountain lions have become more nocturnal and less crepuscular, meaning they are more active at dusk and dawn. did.
To examine the effects of recreation on lions, researchers used GPS and activity data collected from tracking collars on 22 mountain lions roaming the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas from 2011 to 2018. .
They also pulled data from Strava, a popular app where users publicly record their runs, hikes, etc., to determine how much recreation takes place in each lion’s range, and how that reflects the lion’s activity. We tested how it affected patterns and timing.
The study’s “most nocturnal” mountain lion was late P-41, which lived in the Verdugo Mountains, a recreational haven and mountain range surrounded by highways and development at the northeastern edge of the San Fernando Valley. In second place was P-22, affectionately known as Brad Pitt the Puma as he strutted around the Hollywood Hills.
The study revealed that female lions are less nocturnal than males. This is probably because males pose a threat to females and their kittens.
(National Park Service, via Associated Press)
Researchers thought that if mountain lions were exposed to more recreation, they might develop immunity and simply stop caring.
“We thought the opposite,” says lead author Ellie Bolas, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis.
“Seeing that mountain lions are flexible in their activities and responsive to recreation makes us feel optimistic that they are trying to avoid us and want to avoid us. I think so,” she added.
Other institutions involved include Cal Poly Pomona, the National Park Service, UCLA, the University of Nebraska, and Harvard-Westlake High School.
The study’s findings are good news for Angelenos who worry about cats falling prey to lions, given their avoidance of humans. And it also helps explain how apex predators hack their way through urban environments. Los Angeles is just one of two megacities in the world that are home to big cats. Another is Mumbai, India, where leopards roam the streets.
So why do local lions rearrange their schedules to accommodate people? A new study points out that the animals may hightail it to areas with fewer people when possible. But in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which has a population of more than 18 million people, even natural areas are at a standstill. So they adopted a different strategy.
The National Park Service has been monitoring lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains for more than 20 years, which is where the long-term data for the recent study came from.
“The main thing we’ve been studying all along is the effects of urbanization and fragmentation on these animals,” said study co-author and wildlife expert in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a division of the park. said Seth Riley, bureau chief in charge. service.
A new study reveals that, contrary to researchers’ expectations, lions’ timing shifts are not as pronounced on weekends, when recreational activity spikes.
There were also differences between males and females, with female mountain lions becoming more active during the day and closer to sunrise. Researchers speculate that they may be avoiding overlap with male lions, and sometimes lionesses themselves, who take their cubs and kill them.
The most nocturnal mountain lion tracked was P-13, a female with a home range in the Midwest near Santa Monica.
Beth Pratt, California regional director for the National Wildlife Federation, said it’s good news that the charismatic felines are “coping” but there are likely tradeoffs.
“Changing their hunting strategy is not ideal,” said Pratt, one of the P-22’s biggest promoters. “It takes more energy and we don’t have as many options, but the animals here are doing their part.”
People should also participate with minimal challenges, she says. Panthers roaming the Santa Monica Mountains are at risk of inbreeding because of the highways, which effectively trap them and shut out visitors with the necessary genetic diversity.
“At some point, we’re not going to be able to deal with all these overlapping challenges,” she said, pointing to threats such as automobiles and rat poison, both of which have hit the P-22 hard. He was captured in late 2022 and was euthanized because his injuries and infection made him too ill to be released into the wild.
Mr Platt said one way to give lions an “advantage” was to install wildlife crossings. Mr. Pratt is the architect behind the world’s largest such corridor, which spans Highway 101 in Agoura Hills.
The more than $90 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Refuge, currently under construction, is seen as a potential lifeline for Santa Monica’s lions. Without an outlet, people are at risk of blinking.
Pratt said this new research shows that seemingly innocuous actions like how we set trails and enjoy the outdoors can impact species, leading to the biodiversity crisis. said we have a duty to consider our approach in overcoming this.
“It’s not that we shouldn’t do them, but how can we do them differently so that the animals are not affected as much?” she said.
Bolas said there are currently no studies showing whether lions’ flexibility in timing their activities comes at a cost to them, but “it’s very possible.”
The study reveals new facts as parts of Southern California and the Central Coast’s cougar population are at a crossroads.
California wildlife officials are poised to decide whether to list six orphaned mountain lion clans as endangered or endangered under state law.
In 2020, the state Fish and Game Commission designated the cougar, which roams the area between Santa Cruz and the U.S.-Mexico border, as a temporarily endangered species, making it a candidate for listing under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
A final decision is expected next year.
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