Hunting mountain lions for sport is illegal in California, but property owners may be granted depredation permits to kill any that have taken domestic animals or damaged property.
Mountain lions also may be killed or euthanized if they pose a public safety concern.
Several years ago, state officials set up a three-step system for depredation permits for cougars in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains. Property owners in those areas typically first have to try non-lethal means to keep them away – a policy that was later expanded outside of those areas.
Under Proposition 117, however, the department also may issue a depredation permit in some cases if a mountain lion is caught in the act of pursuing, injuring or killing livestock, officials said.
Has a mountain lion been shot recently?
A mountain lion that once led authorities on a brief chase in Camarillo died after being shot in the nearby Santa Monica Mountains.
The young male lion known as P-122 was one of dozens in Ventura and Los Angeles counties that have been tracked by the National Park Service. Researchers have studied the local pumas for more than 20 years to see how they’re surviving in an increasingly urban area.
The cougar was initially discovered in a Camarillo backyard last year. After a brief chase, authorities tranquilized and then released him with a GPS collar in the Santa Monicas, the largest stretch of open space nearby. There, wildlife experts said the lion possibly could give a much-needed genetic boost to the small, isolated cougar population.
In November, P-122 was shot by a property owner in the Thousand Oaks area while the cougar preyed on sheep, authorities said. The private property was located next to open space.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the incident and determined the shooting complied with state law, officials said.
The lion didn’t immediately die from the gunshot wound, said Cort Klopping, a department spokesperson. Once located the following day, the injured cougar was examined and later euthanized after officials determined he was unlikely to recover.
What is known about the mountain lion?
Months earlier, P-122 was spotted on a February morning underneath a backyard playset in Camarillo, north of the 101 freeway and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Plans called for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel to use a tranquilizer dart to sedate him. As they went into the backyard, however, the young lion took off, running north through the neighborhood. Before long, the cougar hunkered down in some brush in a housing complex, roughly a half mile away.
In the local study, researchers have found mountain lions avoid people and developed areas the vast majority of time. When a young cougar does wander into a neighborhood, it typically happens at night. When daylight comes and people start moving around, a mountain lion may try to find a spot where it feels safe and hidden.
After being caught and a quick checkup, P-122 was released with the GPS collar in the western Santa Monica Mountains, south of the 101 freeway. Authorities estimated he was around 2 to 3 years old, a teenager in the mountain lion world.
What happened when the lion was shot?
P-122 reportedly killed a sheep sometime after midnight or in the early morning hours on Nov. 14, authorities said. The sheep were free roaming on the property adjacent to wildlife habitat, according to state officials.
The property owner fired a warning shot into the hillside with a .22-caliber gun to try to scare the lion, Klopping said. When that was ineffective, the property owner got a .30-06 firearm and fired again, this time hitting P-122.
State wildlife biologists responded later that evening but were unable to locate the injured lion. The next day, the National Park Service helped them find P-122 using data from the cougar’s GPS collar and a VHF transmitter, according to Klopping.
The mountain lion was located near the same property and taken to the Los Angeles Zoo, where an exam showed severe injuries, including major fractures from the gunshot wound, Klopping said. Given the severity, extensive medical care required and “extremely poor” possibility of recovery, veterinarians recommended the lion be euthanized, he said.
The department’s law enforcement investigated the incident, determining that the lion was shot lawfully. The department issued an after-the-fact depredation permit to the property owner.
How could the cougar help the popuation?
At any given time, there’s only one or two breeding adult males in the population.
After two adult male lions died last year, researchers said P-122 and another young male spotted in the area may be key to the population’s future.
The small cougar population in the Santa Monicas is boxed in by development and highways, obstacles that have led to inbreeding, low genetic diversity and lions killing each other.
One study showed that just one mountain lion crossing into the Santa Monicas every few years would help increase genetic diversity.
How are mountain lions protected?
Earlier this year, state officials approved listing mountain lions in the Santa Monicas and other locations as threatened under California’s Endangered Species Act. It is not yet clear whether that move could change the management of the cougar population.
Some have called for investing more in ways to safely coexist. Those efforts could include education about strategies already shown to work and also trying to identify other possibilities, said Tiffany Yap, urban wildlands science director for the Center for Biological Diversity. The nonprofit was one of the organizations that petitioned for the mountain lion listing.
“I think it needs to be in a way that is compassionate towards the mountain lions and the people living on the landscape,” Yap said.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Is it legal in California to shoot a mountain lion? What the law says
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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