The wildlife overcrossing in Liberty Canyon across the 101 Freeway is making progress. In fact, construction of the cougar overcrossing may result in freeway closures in April.
The overcrossing is designed to provide a safe way for wild animals, including bobcats, cougar, coyotes and deer to navigate the otherwise fatal stretch of road.
According to the Ventura Star CalTrans will do overnight work to finish the next section of the project. The project is officially named after Wallis P. Annenberg. She is a major contributor to the public-private venture. The project arose from a groundswell of public affection for P-22. He was a mountain lion who twice crossed the freeway. His daring earned him a place in many people’s hearts during his roughly 12 year life. Alhough he crossed the freeway twice, he was hit by a car late in his life. Those injuries and other ailments caused officials to capture him and euthanize him.
Cougars in the Santa Monica mountains have been under study by the National Park Service(NPS) for roughly 20 years. More than 100 cougars (Felis concolor) have been studied. Many have died in traffic collisions, some trying to cross the freeway. NPS researchers and other conservationists fear that the freeway will cause local extinction of the cougars.
If they cannot get across the freeway they will inbreed, biologists say, and eventually go extinct. Signs of inbreeding, including kinked tails, are already showing up in local cougars.
California cougars are under both intense study and major threat. CalTrans is working to protect wildlife by factoring in their needs when planning roadwork. The cougar overcrossing construction is one example. The agency is working on a number of wildlife friendly projects in the state. Although the cats are not in immediate danger of local extinction recent research has lowered their estimated numbers, raising some concern.