Fire believed to have killed second lion

‘Culvert Cat’ known for his ability to navigate the freeways

IN PASSING—P-64 crosses under the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. He was found dead, with burned paws. Courtesy National Park Service

IN PASSING—P-64 crosses under the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. He was found dead, with burned paws. Courtesy National Park Service

National Park Service researchers have discovered the remains of P-64, a male mountain lion who survived the flames of the Woolsey fire only to die a short while later. Although the cause of death isn’t certain, P-64’s paws were found to be visibly burned, the park service said. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct a postmortem examination.

“P-64 was a fascinating cat to study because he crossed our notoriously deadly freeways dozens of times,” said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

“It’s very unfortunate that he was seemingly so successful surviving in this fragmented landscape and then died in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire.”

Sikich said his death might have been preventable.

“It’s of particular interest that he chose to travel back through a fresh burn area rather than retreat through urbanized areas to escape the fire,” he said.

When the fire broke out the afternoon of Nov. 8, P-64 was known to be in the Simi Hills north of Oak Park. He traveled throughout the hills for the next few days, covering several miles before hunkering down in a remote area. The distance he traveled—combined with the fact that a telemetry device pinpointed P-64’s location in an unburned portion of the Simi Hills on Nov. 26—boosted hopes that the cougar may have survived.

The last GPS transmission from the cat’s collar was on Nov. 28. The collars commonly go multiple days without connecting to their satellite and transmitting information. But when Sikich hiked to the location of the last GPS point on Dec. 3, he found P-64’s remains nearby. The cougar appeared to have been dead for several days.

P-64 was about 4 years old and was first captured in February this year at the Santa Susana Field Lab in the Simi Hills. He was given the nickname “Culvert Cat” because he surprised researchers by using a long, narrow storm drain multiple times to cross under the 101 Freeway near Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills.

During the nine months that he was tracked by park service researchers, he crossed the 101 Freeway 14 times and the 118 Freeway 27 times. His home range consisted of the northern Santa Monica Mountains, the Simi Hills and the southern Santa Susana Mountains. Although DNA testing is needed for verification, he is the suspected father of four female kittens born this year in May.

Of the 13 mountain lions tracked by NPS researchers in the region, 11 were in or around the fire perimeter. Of those 11, nine have survived the fire and appear to be moving normally. P-74, a young male mountain lion, died during the fire or in its immediate aftermath, the park service said.

The Woolsey fire burned 88 percent of National Park Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains.