Dead mountain lion found on 101 Freeway near wildlife crossing – Daily News

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills is scheduled to open in early 2026. Ahead of National Infrastructure Week, the governor also announced that construction crews are now more than halfway through installing the beams that will form the crossing. More than 60 beams were installed as of Friday, May 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

On Saturday, June 15, a dead mountain lion was found on the 101 Freeway near Agoura Hills, near the wildlife overpass under construction over the freeway.

The animal was found in the far right lane of the southbound freeway near Liberty Canyon Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency said someone called at 4:48 a.m. about a possible animal on the road.

Conservationists hope that the cross-breeding will save the threatened local population of pumas from extinction, which could become inevitable if the lions continue to follow their historical pattern of inbreeding due to the small cat population in the area.

Construction on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing began in 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.

The fully planted transition is intended to provide a connection between the small mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger and genetically diverse populations to the north.

According to official information, the border crossing will be the largest of its kind in the country.

Decades of road building and development have proved deadly to animals attempting to cross the area’s highways, while creating islands of habitat where wildlife from bobcats to birds and lizards are genetically isolated.

More information about the project can be found online at 101wildlifecrossing.org.