Mountain Lion Found Dead On 101 Freeway, Less Than A Mile From Future Wildlife Crossing Site

A mountain lion was found dead early this morning on the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, less than a mile from the future site of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

California Highway Patrol officials were notified of the incident at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday morning. The cat was found dead on the side of the freeway near the Liberty Canyon Road exit, directly east of where the wildlife crossing will be located.

The crossing, a $90 million project, is under construction and is projected to open in late 2025 or early 2026. When completed, it will connect mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains with other populations to the north.

Beth Pratt, California executive director of National Wildlife Federation who's helped lead fundraising efforts for the wildlife bridge in Agoura Hills, said she learned about the incident this morning.

"This one was particularly heartbreaking because there is the crossing in the background — not completed yet," Pratt said. "It's just not coming soon enough for this cat."

What we know so far

A cause of death has not been identified. According to Pratt, the body of the mountain lion is now with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Then it'll likely go to the National Park Service, which has been conducting a long-term study of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains area.

Pratt is expecting to learn more about the mountain lion in the coming days after tests are conducted.

"We don't know anything about this cat," Pratt said, noting that there's no collar on the mountain lion, meaning that it had never been captured before by the Parks Service.

"If you can get DNA [information], it tells us a lot about where this cat came from," Pratt said.

It's rare for mountain lions to try to cross freeways — GPS data shows most mountain lions who approach freeways turn back around without attempting to cross.

However, the big cats can and do take the risk on occasion. Late local celebrity P-22 famously traversed two freeways to make his home in Griffith Park. And other freeways have proved deadly for mountain lions, including an accident on the 405 freeway that killed P-97 in 2022.

The will crossing will allow for safe crossing of the 101 Freeway and remedy one of the main issues facing local mountain lions: a lack of genetic diversity and connection to other populations to the north.