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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Finding your way is not always easy. But, wildlife biologists are studying the ways animals find their way in this urban mtn range.
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Bobcats: Living on the Urban Edge Benefits and Hazards

Benefits of Living on the Urban Edge

One of the biggest benefits of living on the urban edge is the increase in food resources.  Landscaped yards and golf courses provide rabbits with a never-ending feast of flowers and freshly-cut lawns. Our studies have shown that within urban areas, rabbits can be found in higher concentrations than in the surrounding natural habitat.That's bad news for your garden, but may be good news for bobcats.

 

Hazards of Living on the Urban Edge

There are also many hazards from living on the urban edge. With an increased road network, bobcats face the danger of colliding with vehicles while trying to get to habitat fragments. As the distance between natural and urban areas decrease, the transmission of domesticated animal diseases to wild animal populations may become a problem. Exposure to rodenticide poisons appears to be a growing problem as homeowners try to control rodent populations, and inadvertently expose bobcats to the poison. Our studies have shown that anticoagulant exposure was associated with fatal outbreaks of mange, characterized by severe mite infestations over much of the upper body. 

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Sue Nelson, Jill Swift, and Margo Feurer were instrumental in the movement to create a national recreation area near Los Angeles.

Did You Know?
Four state parks were the triumph of a grassroots movement to protect open spaces minutes from Los Angeles in the 1950s & 60s. Three women, Sue Nelson, Jill Swift, and Margo Feuer further galvanized the movement that helped make Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area a reality in 1978.
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Last Updated: January 04, 2007 at 14:05 MST