Lions rule the African plains and their reputation as ‘King of the Jungle’ is legendary. ”Southern California, though, has its own lions and while they may not roar or have manes like their African neighbors, they are every bit as impressive. Listed in the dictionary under more names than any animal in the world, our local cat is classified by biologists ‘Felis concolor,’ which is Latin for ‘cat of one color.’ With over 30 subspecies, most designated by geographical region, the cat can be called a puma, cougar or panther. In California, it is most commonly known as the mountain lion, our state’s largest predator. Two of these majestic animals are known to live in the Santa Monica Mountains and have been sighted in the foothills above Pacific Palisades. So as not to get too attached to the animals, scientists have named them simply P1 and P2, the ‘P’ being an initial for puma. No mammal in the Western Hemisphere rivals the mountain lion in habitat diversity and range. ‘Our overall goal is to understand how these animals are using the landscape,’ says Seth Riley, Ph.D., a wildlife ecologist for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area. ‘Because Los Angeles has urbanized so rapidly, it’s a good place to start in terms of learning more about how these lions adapt in areas of high population density. The work we’re doing can hopefully be applied to other fast-growing areas in the future.’ Often mistaken for bobcats, mountain lions are much larger, standing two to three feet high at the shoulders, and usually have tawny-colored, light brown fur with a whitish underside and dark brown or black-tipped ears. They are further distinguished by their long tails (over a third of their body length from nose to end of tail), which they use for balance, and their distinctive ‘M’ shaped paw pads. The males weigh between 120 and 190 pounds (females weigh 80 to 100 pounds). ‘These animals can readily adapt to their environment,’ says Michelle Cullens, director of conservation for the Mountain Lion Foundation, which is headquartered in Sacramento. ‘Just in our state alone, they can live from the bottom of Death Valley to the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevadas.’ Capable of hearing ultrasonic sound far beyond human range and equipped with ‘night vision,’ lions are adept at moving silently and sneeking up on their prey. When walking, a mountain lion’s hind foot steps in its fore track, creating a recognizable overlapping pattern. Mountain lions are capable of bounding 40 feet while running, leaping 15 feet up a tree and sprinting up to 50 miles per hour, all necessary skills to hunt their prey, which locally consists primarily of mule deer. A healthy lion will kill a deer every one to four weeks and return to feed on the carcass over a period of several days. Mountain lions are crepuscular creatures, meaning they are most active and do most of their hunting at night, dawn and dusk. Despite living in the vicinity of large human populations, lions in Southern California avoid people whenever possible yet are often misunderstood as vicious creatures that will attack humans and pets unprovoked. Scientists confirm nothing is further from the truth. ‘When you look at their patterns, you see they avoid areas frequented by people and if they have to cross a path or walk under a freeway, it’s almost always overnight when people are sleeping,’ Riley says. ‘We occasionally get reports about mountain lion sightings, but when we go out to investigate, it usually turns out to be something else, like a bobcat or a coyote. Lions have very distinct tracks so we can usually tell right away.’ It is illegal to kill mountain lions for sport in California. But as recently as 2000 there were 160 lions legally killed statewide under depredation permits for preying on pets (cats and dogs) or livestock (goats, sheep, ducks and chickens). Considering that the population of California is well over 30 million, encounters between people and lions are infrequent and attacks are extremely rare. Lions killed because of direct interaction with people average fewer than 10 a year. ‘Mountain lions are the top carnivore in Southern California,’ says Linda Sweanor, wildlife researcher with the University of California, Davis who recently concluded research on mountain lion and human interactions in San Diego. ‘Lions are a biological keystone for maintaining much of the beauty and richness of California’s landscapes.’ Mountain lions live on average 10 to 12 years in the wild. Females can bear up to four cubs at a time, but 50 percent die before the age of 2 as a result of road kill, falling, starvation or being eaten by other predators. Cutting-edge technology assists scientists in monitoring the lions’ movements better than ever before, primarily in the form of remote cameras, radio collars equipped with VHF (Very High Frequency) and GPS (Global Positioning System) units capable of transmitting accurate data at regular intervals. ‘The GPS readings are great because they come from a satellite,’ Riley said. ‘We receive downloads 150 times a month with precise GPS location points so we can track them pretty well. The collars, which weigh only two pounds, have built-in timers that can be programmed to drop off by themselves after a year. Once located and recovered, they can be reused. In fact, P1 has already been captured and recollared twice. ‘They can travel as far as 50 miles a day,’ says Charles Taylor, chief of external affairs for the Thousand Oaks branch of the National Parks service. ‘Generally, they won’t go nearly that far. But like any carnivore, they have to follow their food source.’ When P1 was first caught and radio-collared in July 2002, researches examined his teeth and determined his age to be between 5 and 7 years old, making him 7 to 9 now. At about 145 pounds, depending upon when he last fed, he is about as large as the species gets in California. P2 was 2 or 3 years old when caught and collared in October 2002, making her 4 or 5 now, and scientists have found no evidence of her having bred yet. Though their ranges overlap, Riley admits there is a distinct possibility that P1 and P2 will never meet and, therefore, never mate. ‘Being a male, P1 has a much larger range than P2,’ Riley said. ‘He roams from the Rustic Canyon/Topanga area all the way to Pt. Mugu State Park west of Malibu, but he spends most of his time in the same range as P2, who stays in the general vicinity of Malibu Creek State Park. So we know they’ve been near each other. But these are solitary animals for the most part. They don’t travel in prides like African lions do.’ Though Riley said there could be anywhere from three to seven mountain lions in the Santa Monicas, it is unlikely there is room for another male in P1’s home range, an area encompassing over 150 square miles. The lions’ constant movement and expansive territory make it difficult for researchers to accurately determine their numbers. Riley has collared two other lions, a juvenile male designated P3 and an adult female (P4). P3 was caught in the Simi Hills, north of the 101 freeway and south of the 118, while P4 is in the Santa Susana Mountains around the area of Interstate 5 and Highway 126. Though her entire range was burned by the wildfires in October, Riley said P4’s range has not dramatically changed. Because they are California’s largest predators, mountain lions are vital to the state’s ecosystem. ‘Studies have shown that when predators are present, herbivores are forced to keep moving and that improves the gene pool, seeds are spread in a natural way and the whole environment operates the way it should,’ says Lynn Sadler, Executive Director of the Mountain Lion Foundation. ‘Lions bring balance to the equation because it’s survival of the fittest.’ The mountain lion may not be ‘King of the Jungle’ in Southern California, but it is, as the Cherokee Indians call it, Klandagi, ‘Lord of the Forest”and pride of the chaparral. Residents interested in learning how to peacefully co-exist with mountain lions and other local wildlife should attend a free ‘People and Wildlife’ Program presented by On the Edge, a consortium of five wildlife organizations (including the Mountain Lion Foundation), next Thursday at 7 p.m. in the dining hall of Temescal Gateway Park.
