Locked in by Freeways and subject to death by the secondary effects of rodenticides used by homeowners to kill rats, the 10 or so Pumas in Los Angeles are under dire stress, with 3 young "cats" recently discovered dead by the Santa Monica Park Service personnel(rodenticide the likely killing agent)..........Many are at work in the State Legislature to get a total ban of the poisons and local folks and the Caltrans transportation people are seeking to raise the $30 million needed to get the wildlife overpass on the 101 freeway at the Lost Hills Exit in Agoura built----which would allow movement of the "Cats" in and out of L.A., upping the odds of the population refreshing it's gene pool and improving the odds for the Pumas long term persistence in Americas 2nd largest city

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/10/09/54946/3-young-mountain-lions-found-dead-in-santa-monica/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTAyMDUzMTY1MjM4NDYxNTQwNzQyGjQ2OTIwYTk2ZWZjMTE1ODg6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNHkHEB1VLPA3b2x2lbrx_WdNaT1wQ

One of the 10 or so Pumas left in the Greater Los Angeles basin
This picture taken 10 minutes north of where I live

Three young mountain lions have been found dead recently in

 the Santa Monica Mountains over the last several weeks, 

according to the National Park Service. The most recent to be

 discovered was P-34, a female who was apparently killed by rat 

poison.

P-34 was found dead on a Point Mugu State Park trail last week, 

Sept. 30, by a runner, according to the Park Service. Dr. Seth Riley, 

wildlife ecologist for the Park Service, told KPCC that the lion is

 being tested for the presence of harmful toxins. In the meantime,

 initial examinations make National Park Service biologists 

suspect anticoagulant rodenticides caused the death.

“Basically they found a bunch of free blood in her chest cavity 

and blood around her heart and no other signs of trauma that 

should have caused that," Riley said. "So that’s the kind of 

thing you typically find when an animal has bled to death 

from lack of ability to clot the blood.”

Slideshow: 3 young mountain lions found
 dead in Santa Monica Mountains in recent
weeks | 89.3 KPCC

Rodenticides have been shown to be deadly for coyotes

 and raptors and lead to deaths from mange in bobcats, 

but their effects on mountain lions still aren't well

 understood. The Santa Monica Mountains puma 

population has the only two instances of death 

attributed solely to rodenticide ingestion in 

Southern California. 

"The truth is we're putting these poisons out

 there, affecting all kinds of wild animals; we

 really don't have a clue, in my opinion, what 

effects they may or may not be having beyond

 the basic effects of affecting their ability to clot 

the blood. But in the cases of P-3 and P-4 and

 it looks likely in the case of P-34, those

 consequences have been lethal," Riley said. 

P-34's sibling P-32 was killed in August after

 being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 5. 

Last month, P-43 and a sibling's remains were 

found, according to a release from the Park 

Service. The 3-month olds were were eaten

 by another animal. P-43's mother P-23 has 

had two litters, both of which were killed by 

other animals. 

Two other mountain lions and many coyotes

 have died from poison as well, with exposure 

to the poison also causing a severe disease 

epidemic in bobcats, according to the release.

Kian Schulman, founder of Poison Free

 Malibu, which is working towards a total

ban of rodenticides and pesticides from the

 City of Malibu, said the death of P-34 

points to an ongoing problem of rodenticide use.

“We must do something immediately about

 this cruel and unnecessary poisoning to our 

wildlife. This is a major disaster in our wildlife

 ecosystem here, and strong actions need to be

 applied as soon as possible,” Schulman said.

The population falls within a portion of the 

Santa Monica Mountains that is largely isolated 

by highways and development. 

A large push is underway to raise funds for a

 wildlife bridge that would extend over the 101

-freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. 

Beth Pratt-Bergstrom, California Director for 

the National Wildlife Federation, said the

 crossing is important in light of the recent

 deaths, because any losses are significant in

 such a small and isolated population. 

“They are on an island right now. Let’s ge

t them off an island. It doesn’t mean these 

problems won’t occur, but a wildlife crossing 

will make this population much more viable 

so when these things do occur, there’s much

 more of a robust movement so that these 

cats have a future,” she said.