Mountain lions face greater risk of becoming roadkill in wildfire’s aftermath, study says
by Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times
Oct 20, 2022
3 minutes
![](https://article-imgs.scribdassets.com/byspiz9xca9tl85/images/fileMFVQKJJL.jpg)
LOS ANGELES — Conservationists have long warned that Southern California mountain lions could vanish within decades due to inbreeding and loss of habitat. Now, biologists have identified another threat that could hasten their demise — extreme wildfires.
In a paper published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, UCLA researchers found that the 2018 Woolsey fire had greatly increased the odds of a mountain lion being struck fatally by a motorist or killed by a fellow panther in a territorial dispute.
The reason? Mountain lions were so eager to avoid the 100,000-acre burn zone that they chose
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days