Aug. 13--The journey of a mountain lion who successfully crossed four highways came to an end early Monday when he was struck and killed by a vehicle as he tried to make another run across a major L.A. freeway.
The puma named P-32 is the only known male to venture out of the Santa Monica Mountains and wander north into other habitat areas, said Kate Kuykendall, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
P-32 was best known for dashing across the 101 Freeway near Thousand Oaks on April 3. He managed to cross Highway 23 near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and settled into a natural area in the Simi Hills. He had also crossed Highways 118 and 126.
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But P-32's journey, deemed to be "a textbook case of successful dispersal," was cut short. The 21-month-old puma headed east and tried to cross the 5 Freeway between 4 and 6 a.m. when he was hit in Castaic. The driver didn't stop, Kuykendall said.
"We don't know anything about the driver," she said.
A passerby saw P-32 lying in the road and called the California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials, who picked up his body.
"This case illustrates the challenges that mountain lions in this region face, particularly males," wildlife ecologist Seth Riley said in a statement.
"P-32 conquered all kinds of freeways and highways to reach the Los Padres," he continued, "but it was probably another dominant male that made him leave the area and attempt one last crossing, which obviously was not successful."
P-32 is the first male to be studied that successfully fled the mountains.
He is the 12th mountain lion killed on a freeway or road since researchers began studying the mountain lion population in 2002 to determine how they survive in the city.
Researchers tagged his ear when he was 4 weeks old and tracked him using GPS data from his collar.
In March, P-32's sibling, P-33, attempted the same journey. Researchers believe the female puma crossed the eight-lane 101 Freeway near Camarillo sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. on March 9.
She traveled to State Route 23 but turned around and returned to the area where she initially crossed the 101 Freeway.
In mid-February, the pair of siblings were shown in a series of intimate photographs interacting with each other and feeding on a carcass. The images provided a surprising glimpse into their lives.
At the time, they were 15 months old and won the hearts of many.
Biologists conducted a necropsy on P-32 to examine his condition and took tissue samples. One of the things they will be looking for is whether the puma was exposed to rat poison.
For the most part, P-32 appeared to be in good condition.
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UPDATE
3:43 p.m.: This story has been updated with details about the driver who hit P-32.
This story was orginally published at 12:49 p.m.
