Dead mountain lion found on 405 Freeway near Getty Museum – Daily News

A dead mountain lion was found on the 405 Freeway northbound, off Sepulveda Boulevard, near the Getty Museum, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed.

Police received reports of a dead animal around 2:31 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, and responded, a CHP official said Thursday. They identified the animal and called the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

According to reports, the animal was fatally hit by a car and found on the central barrier of the highway.

Another mountain lion was found dead on June 15 on the 101 Freeway near Agoura Hills, near the site of the future Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which is currently being built over the freeway. The fully landscaped crossing is designed to provide a link between the small mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger and genetically diverse populations to the north.

Scientists have also proposed the idea of ​​fencing highways and roads bordering rural areas to prevent wildlife from crossing busy highways.

According to a new study by the UC Davis Road Ecology Center, a program of the Institute of Transportation Studies, an estimated 613 cougars died in car accidents in California over eight years—that’s about 70 big cats per year.

The number of mountain lions killed in car accidents in California is increasing every year, said center director Fraser Shilling. He estimates that 5% of their population disappears due to car accidents alone.