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Puma Profiles: P-16

Mountain lion in grass framed by ranger legs.

Male
Initial capture date: Spring 2011

This large dominant male was last known to roam the area around Lake Piru in Los Padres National Forest to the north. He was first captured in the spring of 2011 in the Santa Susana Mountains around the age of two or three. He made a textbook case of dispersal to establish his own home range (map). It is thought that as a dominant male possibly still living in southeast Los Padres (researchers removed his collar in January 2014 to use it for another animal), he may have been the reason P-32 tried to leave the area, ultimately dying crossing the 5 Freeway. Like P-3 and P-4, studying a lion outside the Santa Monicas is important to understand how the species survives in adjacent fragmented habitats and helps us identify critical habitat linkages and wildlife movement corridors. He is the son of P-21 and an unknown female, as well as the half-brother of P-12, the lion who surprisingly crossed the 101 Freeway and became the dominant male of the Santa Monica Mountains range.

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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Last updated: January 19, 2023