Mountain lion death reignites call for wildlife tunnel in Liberty Canyon

P-12, captured here with a remote camera trap, was the only lion documented to have successfully crossed the 101 Freeway during the course of a decade-long National Park Service study.

P-12, captured here with a remote camera trap, is the only lion documented to have successfully crossed the 101 Freeway during the course of the decade-long National Park Service study.

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National Park Service via Flickr

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The area surrounding the Liberty Canyon exit on the 101 Freeway is an ideal location for a wildlife crossing because it has natural habitat on both sides of the freeway and connects to vast areas of open space.

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Courtesy National Park Service

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Map of Liberty Canyon area.

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Map courtesy National Park Service

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Wildlife preservationists are alarmed by news that a young, male mountain lion was killed while trying to cross the 101 freeway near Agora Hills. The busy freeway creates a barrier between two large areas of open space, and scientists say it's limiting the big cats' genetic pool.

Wildlife preservationists are alarmed by news that a young, male mountain lion was killed while trying to cross the 101 freeway near Agora Hills.

The busy freeway creates a barrier between two large areas of open space, and scientists say it's limiting the big cats' genetic pool.

For more on this we reached out to Seth Riley, a wildlife biologist who heads up a team studying mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains.