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Spotted in Pacific Palisades: A Mountain Lion
A local mountain lion heads into the woods | Photo by the National Park Service
Authorities are on the lookout for a mountain lion reportedly seen in Pacific Palisades. Around 11:43 p.m. on Wednesday, police were alerted to a large 150 to 250-pound cat near Temescal Canyon Road and Sunset Boulevard. Shortly after, officers thought they may had cornered the cougar at Palisades Charter High School, but reports indicate it was never captured by animal service officers.
Mountain Lions have lived in the Santa Monica Mountains since before human development in the area. Biologists with the National Park Service study the affect of an urban area surrounding mountain lion habitat and track many of the pumas vis GPS. Earlier this year, both Woody Smeck and Joe Edmiston, who head up the mountains for the National Park Service and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, respectively, and have worked in the mountains for a combined 50 years, said they have never randomly come upon a mountain lion.
Most recently, three baby mountain lions were born.
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