Collared mountain lion killed by livestock ownerFree Access

Rancher had obtained depredation permit from Fish and Wildlife



A photo of P-56, who was caught and collared in April 2017. The male, believed to be between 4 and 5 years old, was shot and killed in January in the western Santa Monica Mountains south of the 101 Freeway. Courtesy of National Park Service

For the first time in the 18-year history of the National Park Service’s study of pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains, a radio-collared cougar has been lawfully shot dead.

NPS announced Monday that a landowner in the western Santa Monica Mountains had shot and killed a cougar in January that had been threatening livestock.

The male mountain lion, believed to be 4 or 5 years old, was dubbed P-56 after it was caught and outfitted with a GPS tracking collar in April 2017.

According to NPS, the mountain lion was killed with the blessing of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which issues depredation permits that allow the destruction of threatening animals. The permit holder’s name has not been released.

Depredation permits are a license to kill an otherwise protected species such as mountain lions, which were banned from being hunted in California in 1990. They are issued as a last resort only after an animal has killed pets or livestock multiple times.

The legal killing comes after the DFW made obtaining a depredation permit to kill a mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains more difficult in 2017.

The so-called three-strike policy the state agency instituted requires a property owner to demonstrate that they have tried nonlethal means to deter a lion from returning.

Ana Beatriz Cholo, a spokesperson for the park service, said NPS learned of the mountain lion’s death Jan. 27.

Fish and Wildlife had investigated the homeowner’s claims about the problematic cat and found the animal kept returning, despite numerous attempts to protect livestock on the property, she said.

“In this instance, the landowner implemented measures including bringing in as many livestock as possible, penning any remaining livestock close to the barn and houses, and utilizing trained guard dogs, hot-wire fencing, motion-activated lights and auditory hazing,” Cholo said.

“Over two years, this property owner had depredation incidents resulting in the loss of 12 animals.”

Depredation permits for mountain lions have been controversial in the past—the population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains is dwindling, and animal rights advocates see the permits as one more threat to the species’ survival.

Malibu Hills-based rancher Victoria Vaughn-Perling obtained a depredation permit in 2016 after a mountain lion killed 10 of her alpacas in a single night. When news of Vaughn-Perling’s permit broke, she received death threats and became the target of harassment from environmentalists who argued that an animal acting on instinct didn’t deserve to be killed. She did not end up killing that cat, P-45, but improved the safety of her corral.

DFW created its three-strike policy in the wake of public outcry over Vaughn-Perling’s permit.

If the landowner who killed P-56 in January didn’t have a permit, they would be facing time behind bars.

In July 2019, 60-year-old Simi Valley resident Alfredo Gonzalez shot and killed a 7-year-old mountain lion he believed posed a threat to himself and 700 campers at a facility in Simi Valley. Gonzalez was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 30 days in a work-release program and 240 hours of community service at an animal shelter.

A more recent photo of P-56. Courtesy of NPS

Shrinking numbers

The death of P-56 is another blow to the dwindling population of Southern California mountain lions, which have little territory to hunt and numerous obstacles to finding a mate.

Ongoing development has encroached upon the open space in which they hunt, and freeways have isolated them. The roadways act as barriers that keep animals isolated or put them at risk of being killed while trying to cross.

Several mountain lions have been killed in recent years attempting to cross the 101 and 405 freeways. The regional population is so fragmented that researchers are concerned the animals could go extinct in the Santa Monica Mountains in the next 50 years.

“The loss of a breeding male is a concern for the study, especially when the population is already very small,” said Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist for the project. “There are always animals out there that are not being tracked. Currently there is only one adult male in the Santa Monica Mountains we are tracking, and that is P-63.”

P-56 is the suspected father of a litter of four kittens that were born in July 2018, NPS said.