Mountain Lion Found Dead On 101 Freeway Close To Under-Construction Wildlife Crossing

Photo credit: Mountain lion in Southern California, taken by Mark Girardeau

WAN is saddened to report the heartbreaking news of a mountain lion that was found dead on the 101 Freeway near Agoura Hills, California. The big cat was found close to the site of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, that is currently under construction over the freeway.

According to California Highway Patrol, on Saturday, June 15th, a good samaritan called about a possible animal on the road at 4:48 a.m. Sadly, a mountain lion was later found deceased in the far right lane of the southbound freeway near Liberty Canyon Road.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently investigating the death of the mountain lion, which was not wearing a tracking collar.  

Unfortunately, these types of tragedies are far too common, which makes the construction of wildlife crossings that much more critical.

A study by UC Davis revealed that an alarming number of mountain lions are being hit and killed by cars on California roads, with an average of one to two mountain lions struck every week.

The study suggests the importance of constructing more wildlife crossings, which allows animals to safely traverse under busy freeways through tunnels or over on wildlife bridges. Thankfully, $50 million has been allocated towards animal safety road projects to mitigate these incidents and enhance wildlife connectivity throughout California.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is an ambitious project designed to provide safe passage for wildlife over the heavily trafficked U.S. Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, California.

Once completed, it will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world and the first of its scale in an urban area. The crossing aims to reconnect the Santa Monica Mountains and the Sierra Madre Range, facilitating the movement of animals, such as mountain lions, deer, and other wildlife that are currently isolated due to the freeway system.

In 2015, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Caltrans proposed a plan to provide wildlife safe passage over one of California’s busiest freeways. At the time, the proposed plan was expected to take years to fund and even longer to build. However, in 2021, a generous $25 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation significantly accelerated the project’s timeline and funding efforts.

Construction of the wildlife crossing began in April 2022 and is expected to be completed by early 2026. The project is being funded through a combination of public and private sources, with significant contributions from the Annenberg Foundation, California state agencies, and thousands of individual donors.

“There’s a reason I wanted to support this crossing and issue this challenge: We need to move beyond mere conservation, toward a kind of environmental rejuvenation,” said Wallis Annenberg. “Wildlife crossings are powerfully effective at doing just that — restoring ecosystems that have been fractured and disrupted. It’s a way of saying, there are solutions to our deepest ecological challenges, and this is the kind of fresh new thinking that will get us there.”