The Santa Monica Mountains mountain range, part of the Transverse Ranges in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, currently supports 10 to 15 mountain lions (Puma concolor), despite much of the range being in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The range has been home to mountain lions since prior to the arrival of Europeans, although their continued survival is threatened by several factors, the largest of which is the isolation of their habitat by freeways.
In 2002, the National Park Service began tracking mountain lions in this area as part of decades-long study. The most notable lion in the study was P-22, which lived in Griffith Park, was photographed in front of the Hollywood Sign, was nicknamed "Hollywood Cat," and was featured on the cover of National Geographic. Other notable lions include P-1 ("King of the mountains"), P-2, P-12, P-19 ("Selfie Cat"), P-64 ("Culvert Cat"), and P-65 ("Coastal Cat").
Area
The Santa Monica Mountains extend approximately from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. Although heavily developed, much of the range has been preserved as local, state, or national parkland, the largest of which is the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Mountain lions are territorial and require ample acreage to find food and mates. The home range of a single mountain lion can be as large as ; in the Santa Monica Mountains, a typical range is for males and for females. The National Park Service estimates that the Santa Monica Mountains can support 10 to 15 lions, not including kittens. The area is one of only two instances of large wild cats living in a megacity, the other being leopards in Mumbai, India.
History Mountain lions have lived in the Santa Monica Mountains since before the arrival of Europeans (the Gabrieleño/Tongva word for Puma concolor is ) and despite the range's relatively small area, the population has remained stable.
Long term survival of mountain lions in the range is threatened by several factors, especially the isolation of their habitat by freeways. This isolation, which started when the Ventura Freeway was constructed in the 1950s and was exacerbated by housing developments alongside it, has led to inbreeding, as the area now has almost no new DNA entering it. Genetic analyses in the 2000s revealed that the Santa Monica Mountains mountain lion population had the second lowest level of genetic diversity ever documented amongst large carnivores in North America, the lowest being Florida panthers in the mid-1990s.
Other threats to the Santa Monica Mountains mountain lion population include wildlife-vehicle collisions, anticoagulant rodenticides, and intraspecific conflict. According to the National Park Service, 32 mountain lions in or near the Santa Monicas were killed by wildlife-vehicle collisions between 2002 and 2022; 28 of 29 mountain lions tested for anticoagulant compounds tested positive, including seven fatal cases; and intraspecific conflict, while common in the species, is exacerbated by the small and now isolated nature of the Santa Monicas.
In 2016, researchers from the National Park Service, UCLA, UC Davis, and Utah State University predicted that without significant changes, the Santa Monica Mountains mountain lions could become extinct within 50 years. In 2020, researchers found the first evidence of physical abnormalities in the population. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will connect the Santa Monica Mountains across US-101 to the Simi Hills, is meant to prevent this. The crossing, which cost $90 million , most of which was raised through private donations, broke ground in 2022. It is expected to be completed in 2026, at which point it will become the largest wildlife crossing in the world.
Legal protections The California Wildlife Protection Act, which banned the hunting of mountain lions throughout California, passed in 1990. Mountain lions in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana Mountains were given even more protection in 2020, when the California Fish and Game Commission voted to give them temporary protection under the Endangered Species Act. Since 2002, only one mountain lion is known to have been poached in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Additional legal protection for mountain lions throughout California was provided in 2020, when the state passed the California Ecosystems Protection Act. This law prohibits most uses of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides statewide and all use of first generation anticoagulant rodenticides on state-owned land.
Diet Mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains primarily dine on mule deer. According to a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, of the more than 400 documented kills by mountain lions in the area between 2002 and 2014, 95% were mule deer; according to the National Park Service's website, 87% of more than 700 kills were mule deer. Coyotes are the second most common prey of mountain lions in the area, and raccoons are third. Mountain lions typically eat about one deer per week, while other prey is eaten sporadically as opportunity arises.
Individual mountain lions In 2002, the National Park Service began tracking individual mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas. More than 100 mountain lions have been tracked since.
Santa Monica Mountains Notable individuals whose home range was in the Santa Monica Mountains include:
P-1: The dominant male from 2002 or earlier to 2009. Sometimes referred to as the "king of the mountains." First captured and GPS tracked in 2002, at which point he weighed and was estimated to be five years old. With P-6 was the first documented case of inbreeding in the area. Was possibly killed by P-12 in 2009. P-2: P-1's mate who weighed and was killed by P-1 in August 2005 when she tried to protect her offspring from him. Gave birth to: P-9 and at least one other (prior to 2004), fathered by P-1 P-5, P-6, P-7, P-8, and at least one other (2004), fathered by P-1 P-6: P-1's daughter who repeatedly mated with him. Born and first captured in 2004 and last captured in the summer of 2006. Gave birth to: P-10, P-27, and at least two others (), fathered by P-6's father P-1 P-13 (), fathered by P-6's father P-1 P-12: The western end's dominant male from 2009 to 2015. First captured in Palo Comado Canyon in the Simi Hills in December 2008, at which point he weighed . Estimated to be two years old in 2009 and in February 2009, he crossed U.S. 101 near Liberty Canyon and entered the Santa Monica Mountains, the first documented case of a mountain lion doing so. Shortly after P-12's arrival, P-1 lost his tracking collar in what appeared to be a fight, possibly with P-12. P-12 took over P-1's western end around this time, primarily residing around Trancas Canyon and Malibu Creek State Park, while P-27, whom P-12 avoided, took over the eastern end. P-12 sired at least eight litters and despite providing a genetic rescue, also contributed the second and third documented cases of inbreeding in the areas, with P-19 and P-23 respectively. His GPS tracker stopped working by 2014, he was last seen by wildlife cameras in March 2015, and another large male was found in his territory in November 2015. P-13: First captured in the summer of 2009, at which point she was estimated to be fifteen months old. She lived in the western end of the range and was considered the least nocturnal mountain lion in the National Park Service study. Her tracking collar fell off in February 2015. Gave birth to: P-17, P-18, and P-19 (spring 2010), fathered by P-12 P-25 and P-26 (late 2011), fathered by P-12 P-28, P-29, P-30, and P-31 (2013), fathered by P-12
P-15: The only mountain lion to be poached in the Santa Monica Mountains since tracking began in 2002. First captured in either November 2009 or winter 2010 and was found decapitated and with all four paws severed off in September 2011. Was estimated to be seven years old at the time of his death. P-19: P-12's daughter who repeatedly mated with him. Born in spring 2010 and first captured in early 2012, she was repeatedly captured in "photographic poses" on trail cameras, earning her the nicknamed Selfie Cat. Gave birth to: P-23 and P-24 (June 2012), fathered by P-19's father P-12 P-32, P-33, and P-34 (late 2013 or early 2014), fathered by P-19's father P-12 P-46 and P47 (November 2015), fathered by P-45 P-70, P-71, P-72, and P-73 (July 2018), possibly fathered by P-19's grandson P-56 P-85, P-86, and P-87 (June 2020), father unknown
P-22: Dispersed across I-405, US-101, and into Griffith Park, where he was photographed in front of the Hollywood Sign and featured on the cover of National Geographic, for which he was give the nickname Hollywood Cat. First captured in March 2012, at which point he weighed and was estimated to be 1.5 years old, was treated for mange in 2014, ate a koala in the Los Angeles Zoo in 2016, and was euthanized due to multiple injuries and other serious health issues on December 17, 2022. Had the smallest known home range of any mountain lion in the area. P-23: P-12's daughter and granddaughter who repeatedly mated with him. Born in June 2012 and died in January 2018 due to a wildlife-vehicle collision near Malibu Canyon Road. Gave birth to: P-36 and P-37 (March 2015), fathered by P-23's father and grandfather P-12 P-43, possibly P-53, and at least one other (July 2015), fathered by P-23's father and grandfather P-12 P-54 and at least one other (January 2017), possibly fathered by P-23's half-brother P-30 P-23's second litter's birth being so recent after the first indicates no kittens from the first litter survived. P-27: The eastern end's dominant male from 2013 or earlier to 2017. First captured in April 2013, at which point he was estimated to be six years old, and was found dead of unknown causes in September 2017. P-45: The western end's dominant male from 2015 to 2019. Born north of US-101 in 2012 or 2013, first captured in November 2015, and was suspected of killing twelve alpacas in one weekend in November 2016, for which a depredation permit was taken out but never acted upon. P-47: Was large enough to become a dominant male but died before he established himself as one. Born in November 2015 and first captured in January 2017, at which point he weighed and was estimated to be 14 months old. Recaptured in January 2018, at which point he weighed . Was found dead on March 21, 2019, likely due to anticoagulant poisoning. P-53: P-12's daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter who possibly mated with him. Most likely born in the summer of 2014, first captured in July 2016, treated for mange in March 2019, and died in August 2019 likely due to anticoagulant poisoning. P-54: Born in January 2017, first captured in February 2017, and died by wildlife-vehicle collision on Malibu Canyon Road in June 2022. She was pregnant with four kittens at the time of her death. Gave birth to: P-82, P-83, and P-84 (May 2020), likely fathered by P-63 at least two kittens (October 2020), father unknown P-54's second litter's birth being so recent after the first indicates no kittens from the first litter survived.
P-65: Spent much of her time near the coast, earning her the nickname Coastal Cat. First captured in March 2018, rejected an attempted adoption of P-91 and P-92 in 2020, and was found dead on March 4, 2022 at an estimated five years of age. She was the first mountain lion in the National Park Service study to die from complications of mange; she was also emaciated and tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticides and a neurotoxic rodenticide at the time of her death. Gave birth to: P-88, P-89, and P-90 (June or July 2020), likely fathered by P-63 P-74: Likely died in the Woolsey Fire in November 2018, possibly with his untracked mother. First tracked in September 2018 and was estimated to be 18 months old at the time of his death.