Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

New LA Mountain Lion Alert! Say Hi To P-75

As her designated number suggests, P-75 is the 75th mountain lion to join the study overall. (Courtesy California Department of Fish & Wildlife)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Here's some pawsitive news for your Tuesday -- Los Angeles has a new puma/mountain lion/cougar.

The young female, now christened P-75, was spotted Monday morning up a tree in a Pacific Palisades mobile home park, according to officials with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.

The 50-pound cougar was tranquilized by CADFW officers and NPS biologists, fitted with an ear tag and GPS collar, and safely released into the Santa Monica Mountains (Courtesy California Department of Fish & Wildlife)
()

The 50-pound cougar was "safely tranquilized and removed by (CADFW) officers and NPS biologists," CADFW officials said. Researchers fitted her with an ID ear tag and GPS collar, then released her into the Santa Monica Mountains.

Support for LAist comes from

As her designated number suggests, P-75 is the 75th mountain lion to join the study overall. She's the tenth puma currently active in the Santa Monica Mountains, though two other cougars, P-22 and P-35, are being studied in Griffith Park and the Santa Susana Mountains, respectively.

P-75 has a lot to look out for in her increasingly challenging habitat.

There's the potential for turf wars with other mountain lions, and also the human-caused threat of being hit by a car on the freeway. Freeways also threaten pumas' ability to travel for genetically diverse mating. Then there's the risk of mange and other health dangers via rat poison introduced into the food chain, an introduction made by -- you guessed it -- humans.

Good luck out there, P-75. We're all rooting for you.

The young female, now christened P-75, was spotted Monday morning up a tree in a Pacific Palisades mobile home park. (Courtesy California Department of Fish & Wildlife)
()

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist