News Release

Mountain lion P-89 killed by vehicle strike

P-89 was hit and killed by a car on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills on July 18, 2022.

NPS / Annie Stevens

News Release Date: July 18, 2022

Contact: Ana Beatriz Cholo

On the morning of July 18, 2022, subadult male mountain lion P-89 was found dead along the shoulder of the 101 Freeway between the DeSoto and Winnetka exits in Woodland Hills. 

He had been hit by a vehicle around 2 a.m.

The young mountain lion, found near a dense and urban area, was 2 years old. He is the fourth lion in our study to die from road mortality this year alone.

Earlier this year, he had recently dispersed from his mother, P-65. She had given birth to a litter of three kittens in the central Santa Monica Mountains – female P-88 and males P-89 and P-90 - during the “Summer of Kittens” in 2020.

In total, 13 kittens were born to five mountain lion mothers between May and August of that year.

P-89 was first captured and marked at the den on July 6, 2020, when he was about three weeks of age. His brother, P-90, is still alive and successfully crossed the 101 Freeway in Camarillo last month, leaving the Santa Monica Mountains. His GPS locations show that he has been wandering in Los Padres National Forest. The whereabouts of their female sibling, P-88, is unknown. P-89’s father is suspected to be P-63.

On Oct. 21, 2021, and Nov. 9, 2021, P-90 and P-89 were recaptured and fitted with GPS radio-collars before dispersing from their mother P-65.

Noting both of their mangy appearances at their captures, biologists treated them with Selamectin, a topical treatment for mange, fleas, and ticks.

Tissue, hair, and whisker samples were collected from P-89 after he was killed Monday morning. A necropsy will be conducted.

NPS has been studying mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains for the last two decades to determine how they survive in a fragmented and urbanized environment. CDFW is responsible for overseeing the management and conservation of mountain lions in the state.
 

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.