Topline:
Southern and Central Coast California mountain lions are now listed as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act, after a decision by the Fish and Game Commission on Thursday.
The problem: Genetically distinct populations of mountain lions across the state — from the Central Coast south of San Francisco Bay all of the way to the Mojave Desert — are struggling. Development has shrunk their natural habitats and severed connections between open spaces. Their populations have dwindled as they’ve become increasingly isolated, leading to inbreeding. Depredation, rodenticides and car strikes are also ongoing threats to their survival.
What this means: The California Fish and Game Commission “wanted to choose coexistence over extinction,” said Tiffany Yap, urban wildlands science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. She helped write the petition to have the mountain lions listed. The protections could help ramp up efforts to protect the lions via additional funding for wildlife crossings and curbing the use of rodenticides.
Threatened vs. endangered: When an animal is listed as threatened, the assumption is that without additional protections, it could become endangered. If it’s listed as endangered, the animal is at risk of going extinct.
The Annenberg crossing: The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing spanning the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills is expected to open later this year. One of the key reasons the crossing is being built is so that disparate populations of mountain lions can connect with one another safely, curbing issues with inbreeding seen in the Santa Monica Mountains population.
Go deeper: The plans behind the construction of the world's largest wildlife crossing
