Wild animals in Southern California will soon have more room to roam, thanks to the world’s longest wildlife crossing, which will cross 10 lanes of Highway 101 in northwest Los Angeles to close a crucial gap for habitats.
Mountain lions, which typically roam a range of 240 to 320 kilometers, will be among the main beneficiaries of the new viaduct, providing safe passage from the Santa Monica Mountains, across the road, and into the Simi Hills of the Santa Susana Range. This week, an 18-month-old mountain lion recently separated from its mother was shot and killed on Highway 405, Ana Cholo, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service (NPS) told CNN.
The $87 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing has been named President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, a family foundation that supports non-profit organizations. More than 5,000 individual contributions were made, said Tony Tavares, acting director of CalTrans, the California Department of Transportation, considering that the crossing will also help protect drivers.
“We can protect California’s ecosystems without compromising the development of transportation and other infrastructure we need for a growing population,” US Senator Alex Padilla said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Friday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was also there, has pledged $50 million for other similar projects across the state, though they don’t have the same scale and scope. The Annenberg Wildlife Traverse is a partnership of the National Wildlife Federation and Santa Monica Mountains Conservation, and will be built by CalTrans.
“This project is truly incredible,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s secretary of natural resources. “We will look back decades from now and realize that this project has galvanized a new era of conservation and reconnection with nature.”
Cougars require a vast territory, and isolation on an “urban island” surrounded by busy roads has led to inbreeding and a lack of genetic diversity in the species, according to the NPS, which has studied cougars in the Los Angeles area for two years. decades.
“They’re so fenced in that they can only mate with cousins,” Brad Sherman said of mountain lions, which thrive when they have a large territory to hunt and mate. We are “putting mountain lions on Tinder”.
“I’m shocked to hear about a lack of food or sex in Hollywood, but for mountain lions, it’s true,” Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes the glittering region.
P-22, one of the mountain lions guarded by the NPS, gained notoriety in the area for roaming the Hollywood Hills, having a mange attack after being exposed to rat poison, and even attacking a koala at the Zoo. Los Angeles, in Griffith Park. With his own social media accounts, a day dedicated to him annually, and branded products, this feline has gained a following.
California cougars are getting the most attention for this crossing as their habitat is threatening their very existence, the NPS said, but the project will also improve access to habitats for coyotes, bobcats, deer, snakes , lizards, frogs and even ants.
“We can coexist with all kinds of wild animals, rather than paving them over and smothering them,” said philanthropist Wallis Annenberg at the enclosure’s opening ceremony. “It’s about bringing more attention to an ingenious solution so that urban wildlife and ecosystems like this can not only survive, but thrive.”
The crossing will blend in with the surroundings and will be covered in soil and native plants. The Serra de Santa Monica Foundation has created a special plant nursery that will cultivate all the fauna to be used to cover the crossing when it nears completion in 2025.
Source: CNN Brasil
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