Dead mountain lion found on Highway 101 near wildlife crossing site – Daily News

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in the Agoura Hills is expected to open by early 2026. Ahead of National Infrastructure Week, the governor also announced that construction crews are now more than halfway through the installation of the beams that form the passage. More than 60 beams were installed on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A mountain lion was found dead Saturday, June 15, on Highway 101 near Agoura Hills, near the wildlife crossing currently under construction on the highway.

The animal was found in the rightmost lane of the southbound highway near Liberty Canyon Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency said someone called at 4:48 a.m. about a possible animal in the road.

Wildlife advocates hope the crossing can save the local endangered mountain lion population from extinction, which could become inevitable if the lions continue a historic pattern of inbreeding due to the limited number of cats in the area.

Construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing began in 2022 and is expected to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.

The fully developed crossing is designed to provide a link between the small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger, genetically diverse populations to the north.

The crossing will be the largest of its kind in the country, officials said.

Decades of road construction and development have been deadly to animals trying to cross the region's highways, while creating islands of habitat that have genetically isolated wildlife ranging from bobcats to birds and lizards .

More information about the project is available online at 101wildlifecrossing.org.