This engaging series delves into rarely seen behaviours of California's Mountain Lions including basic biology, research techniques, mating and rearing cubs, movement and territory, ecology, genetics, toxin exposure, and human interactions and conflict with domestic animals.
In California, highways and development have fragmented what natural habitat remains for mountain lions in the state, and are primarily responsible for dividing the population into 10 distinct sub-populations.
This is causing a chain reaction: migrating lions are getting hit by cars or blocked in their movement, and mountain lions that are stuck are inbreeding. This inbreeding and high mortality rates from vehicle collisions (and other human causes) are putting some populations at risk of local extinction, especially those in 6 coastal mountain ranges in Southern and Central California. Recognition of this very real threat has resulted in a petition to list all 6 coastal subspecies as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
We hope to educate viewers on the importance of mountain lions to the ecosystem and what people can do to prevent their decline in our state.The information presented also applies to many other states where similar forces of development and human-related mortalities are threatening the persistence of this critical linchpin of healthy ecosystems. USA Dir. T. Winston Vickers