A male mountain lion tracked by wildlife officers and dubbed P-81 was discovered lifeless on the Pacific Coast Freeway in Southern California final week after possible being struck by a car.

A necropsy is being carried out to verify the reason for dying.

P-81, who was 4 years previous, is one in every of nine mountain lions fatally struck by automobiles since March of final 12 months within the Santa Monica Mountains analysis space close to Los Angeles. He was the 34th mountain killed by a vehicle since 2002. Car strikes are the No. 1 explanation for dying for the animals.

The fatality comes simply over a month after the death of P-22, a beloved native mountain lion who was euthanized with severe accidents possible attributable to a vehicle strike and other health issues. He was estimated to be 12 years previous on the time of his dying.

P-81 was vital to the analysis into the realm’s mountain lion inhabitants attributable to his bodily abnormalities, together with a kinked tail and a deformed reproductive organ.

The abnormalities have been possible attributable to inbreeding, which is a significant downside within the space as a result of the animals’ actions seeking mates are constrained by growth and a system of harmful highways. The realm’s huge cat inhabitants has a number of the lowest genetic variety ever documented, which is a threat to the animals’ well being.

Wildlife officers and advocates are working to complete and shield a protected wildlife hall so mountain lions and different animals can journey vital distances within the space with out having to cross highways.

When environmentalists first proposed a wildlife bridge to assist animals cross Freeway 101, the late P-22 became the face of the project. He additionally was the poster animal for efforts to ban rodenticides after he grew to become in poor health in 2014 following his publicity to rat poison.

Los Angeles and Mumbai are the only two megacities in the world with a inhabitants of mountain lions.

The inhabitants within the Santa Monica Mountains space is comparatively steady, however specialists worry growing dangers amid growth, extra visitors and the rising use of rat poison.