Wildlife in the santa Monica Mountains
Help us preserve biodiversity
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a haven for thousands of species of wildlife – animals and plants. As one of the few protected Mediterranean places in the world, this area is an extraordinary example of biodiversity. Since 2009, thanks to your generous donations SAMO Fund has contributed $850,000 to National Park Service (NPS) wildlife research in the area.
Keep reading for examples of how the SAMO fund supports wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Mountain Lions
The small population of mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains are under threat.
They are suffering from low genetic diversity due to the difficulties they face in moving around Southern California. Several have been killed on our freeways.
Nearly all the mountain lions tested are shown to be contaminated with anti-coagulant rodenticide and, over the last 20 years, six have been shown to have died as the result of such poisoning.
This is why the Fund is actively supporting the construction of a wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon over the 101 freeway.
P-22, The Mountain Lion that crossed both the 101 and the 405 freeways to make Griffith Park his home, had to be humanely euthanized in December 2023 after being struck by a car. During his life he became an icon to Angelenos and an ambassador for the cause of connectivity for wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains. Find out more about P-22 and his legacy.
Over the years SAMO Fund has paid for the following to support the 18 year NPS study of mountain lions:
Radio-collars: $2,500 – 5,000.00 per collar
Tracking vehicle: $3000.00 per year
Anticoagulant Testing: $120.00 per mountain lion capture
Health diagnostics: $40.00 per test
Disease surveys: $50.00 per test
Bobcats
National Park Service has been researching bobcats for many years and has established that 90% of bobcats tested after their death were contaminated with anti-coagulant rodenticide. At least two have died in the Santa Monica Mountains as a direct result of these poisons.
SAMO Fund has been providing satellite collars and paying for necropsy tests for these animals throughout this long term NPS study.
coyotes
Since 2015, NPS has been studying coyotes in an urban setting. SAMO Fund has supported this work with donations of cameras and support for volunteers. This has helped NPS biologists study coyote scat to build an understanding of how coyotes comfortably survive in cities.
california red-legged frogs
Since 2014, NPS with other partners has been working to re-introduce California Red-legged Frogs to the Santa Monica Mountains as they had become extinct within the boundaries of the park.
Find out more about the Red Legged Frog Program from SAMO Fund’s Sarah Wenner, a Biological Technician on this team.
