A Bridge Will Help Humans and Lions Coexist in Los Angeles

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by dave8721

In the pre-Colonial days there were Panthers were Atlanta, New Orleans...etc now stand. Now the Florida Panther is at that is left, and its numbers are falling fast again after having recovered from near extinction in the 1970s.

Also, when species have such limited range and numbers, they have a strong chance of becoming highly inbred and getting genetic disorders that further threaten the species.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Also, when species have such limited range and numbers, they have a strong chance of becoming highly inbred and getting genetic disorders that further threaten the species.

and that goes doubly or triply so for large apex predators like cougars who typically require gigantic ranges to truly thrive as a species.

it's one of the the main reason why they're now primarily only found out in the big wide open wildernesses of the western states.

[photoLith]

I wonder why the USFWS hasnt tried to expand their range outside of FL? Theres also large chunks of protected land that would be suitable to them, IE Okefenokee NWR and Osceola NF, which are huge form a huge protected area across GA and FL. Then theres Alligator River NWR in NC, which I believe is also home to the critically endangered Red Wolf. Then theres also a large chunk of protected habitat suitable to them in the White River NWR in AR, which may have still who knows, the last population of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.

[Chisouthside]

I've definitely heard a cougar screech nearby while hiking with friends in Marin just north of the Golden Gate bridge. scary but cool.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Chisouthside

I've definitely heard a cougar screech nearby while hiking with friends in Marin just north of the Golden Gate bridge. scary but cool.

• Video Link

[Pedestrian]

One city’s excuse was mountain lions. Here’s how others are trying to limit California’s new housing law
Dustin Gardiner
Feb. 11, 2022
Updated: Feb. 11, 2022 10:17 a.m.

SACRAMENTO — Mountain lion habitat. No new water meters. Must have a row of evergreen shrubs. Cannot cast shade on a neighbor’s solar panels. Matching painting and lighting required. No basements or decks. Not too big, too tall or too small.

The list of excuses and restrictions that California cities have leveled in response to SB9, the new state law to increase housing density, has been exhaustive and, well, imaginative.

Housing advocates won a long-sought victory last year when Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators approved SB9, which aims to address the state’s dire housing shortage by increasing density in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes.

But they say the law is being undermined by dozens of cities as they create roadblocks that threaten to hamstring the law’s impact.

SB9, which took effect Jan. 1, makes it easier for property owners to split lots, convert homes to duplexes or build second units on their property — allowing up to four units on lots that had one before.

The tug-of-war playing out between housing advocates and some communities drew national attention recently after Woodside, an affluent Silicon Valley suburb, proclaimed its entire town a sanctuary for mountain lions and therefore off limits for denser housing under the law.

Woodside backed off its so-called “cougar town” defense following a public uproar and smackdown from state Attorney General Rob Bonta. Still, the episode speaks to a larger battle playing out . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...e-was-mountain-lions-Here-s-16907704.php

[SIGSEGV]

Why do they need a bridge when they have Matt Stafford?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by JManc

I was surprised with coyote signage all over SF. Given the geography and high density development, I was surprised they were even able to migrate there...unless Wylie is taking the Bay Bridge into town.

Coyotes live in NYC too. Last year one was believed to be living in Central Park:

https://abc7ny.com/coyote-central-park-coyotes-in-nyc-new-york-city/10342738/

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

I was surprised with coyote signage all over SF. Given the geography and high density development, I was surprised they were even able to migrate there...unless Wylie is taking the Bay Bridge into town.

Not so much the Bay Bridge but wildlife like this coyote have been seen crossing the Golden Gate (it's wilder on the other side of that bridge):


https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/0...-photo-golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco/

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Coyotes live in NYC too. Last year one was believed to be living in Central Park:

https://abc7ny.com/coyote-central-park-coyotes-in-nyc-new-york-city/10342738/

This is one of my favorite candid camera photos ever of a coyote in the cooler of a downtown Chicago Quiznos during a heat wave:


https://twitter.com/sarahbecan/status/1113463312497483776

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Not so much the Bay Bridge but wildlife like this coyote have been seen crossing the Golden Gate (it's wilder on the other side of that bridge):


https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/0...-photo-golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco/

I was being flippant about them crossing the bridges. Seriously? lol They must be ambivalent towards all the traffic and joggers. It's pretty wild on SF side too with the Presidio close by so I can see the draw.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I'll never understand why some people insist on calling these amazing animals "mountain lions" (newsflash: they're NOT lions) when they already have their own perfectly good name - cougars.

Probably because “lion” sounds majestic and “cougar” evokes Stifler’s mom.

[tech12]

Originally Posted by JManc

I was being flippant about them crossing the bridges. Seriously? lol They must be ambivalent towards all the traffic and joggers. It's pretty wild on SF side too with the Presidio close by so I can see the draw.

Yeah, and apparently they don't need all that much "wild" land to feel comfortable. Here's a map of coyote territories in SF that someone put together:

https://coyoteyipps.com/2021/07/14/territories-and-population-in-san-francisco/

[photoLith]

If you look at google maps there’s a fairly clear path for coyotes to get to Central Park from the northern suburbs which are forested and have lots of protected parks. They probably came down through Sprain Ridge Park, then to Tibbetts Brooke Park then Van Cortlandt Park, then along the Hudson crossing the Spuyten Duyvil RR Bridge to Manhattan, then all the way to Riverside Park along the Hudson then in the middle of the night 5 blocks through the Upper West Side to Central Park. Would be lots of tasty trash bags to rifle through on the sidewalks on the way.

[davee930]

Cool. Alberta already got this down. Muthafuckas

https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/articl...ld-looks-canada-conservation-inspiration

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by davee930

Cool. Alberta already got this down. Muthafuckas

https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/articl...ld-looks-canada-conservation-inspiration

Yup. They were the ones to set the models, now lots of Europe has them, India is building them all along their massive new highways projects (to keep their protected Tiger, and other animal sanctuaries connected.), I assume other parts of the world are building them as well (likely China but I haven't read anything of the sort).

[davee930]

Originally Posted by MAC123

Yup. They were the ones to set the models, now lots of Europe has them, India is building them all along their massive new highways projects (to keep their protected Tiger, and other animal sanctuaries connected.), I assume other parts of the world are building them as well (likely China but I haven't read anything of the sort).

Finally something I can be proud about in Canada.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I'll never understand why some people insist on calling these amazing animals "mountain lions" (newsflash: they're NOT lions) when they already have their own perfectly good name - cougars.

I went to David Crockett High School in Austin. The mascot? The cougar. They even have "Cougar Country" painted on the building, and for a while, before the hooligans spraypainted over it, there was a mural of cougars running and bounding on a concrete wall bordering the train tracks.

Still, I've always called them mountain lions. There's also the matter of calling them a puma. I think of them as mountain lions because you usually find them in the western US, but also because they actually really do look like a lion. Structurally, they're closer to a lion than say a cheetah or a leopard. Their coats also look like a lion, no spots or stripes.

https://dinoanimals.com/animals/the-largest-wild-cats-top-10/

https://dinoanimals.com/animals/florida-panther-a-cougar-with-a-broken-tail/

There are mountain lions around Austin, though, they're rare. I've heard stories of them around the west side of the city. My brother and I go mountain biking around Austin, and I have heard stories of people spotting them on the trails.

We have bobcats here also. Someone spotted this guy today on a mountain bike trail in East Austin. We actually have a weird mix of wildlife here. Everything from porcupines to alligators. There's a neighborhood in Southeast Austin that famously has three alligators living in a pond there. And a porcupine was rescued out of a tree in downtown a few months ago.


https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10109020536519568&set=gm.1890034467872051

[ocman]

Originally Posted by homebucket

There was one Bay Area town recently that tried to claim that it was a mountain lion habitat in order to maintain NIMBY status.



https://www.sfgate.com/bay-area-politics...ns-SB9-new-housing-Bay-Area-16838396.php

Such a typical San Francisco rich people move to try to portray something like this as simply an environmental and, at its heart, charitable thing to do.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Still, I've always called them mountain lions. There's also the matter of calling them a puma. I think of them as mountain lions because you usually find them in the western US, but also because they actually really do look like a lion. Structurally, they're closer to a lion than say a cheetah or a leopard. Their coats also look like a lion, no spots or stripes.

https://dinoanimals.com/animals/the-largest-wild-cats-top-10/

So there's only three cat species (tigers, lions, jaguars) that are bigger than mountain lions? I'll keep that in mind next time someone tries to tell me that a mountain lion isn't actually a "big cat."