LOS ANGELES — Vehicle strikes. Rat poison. Permitted killings by ranchers and homeowners. The average California mountain lion is more likely to die at the hands of a human than of natural causes.
Yet new research suggests that the charismatic cats may face less risk from humans in counties where voters supported “pro-environment” ballot measures — an indication that human attitudes can play a role in survival rates.
In the first long-term, statewide analysis of mountain lion mortality, researchers examined records for 590 radio-collared cats from Siskiyou to San Diego counties, between 1974 and 2020. Of 263 documented deaths, researchers were able to determine a cause for 199. Slightly more than half of the deaths were caused by humans.
