Somehow, the Los Angeles Puma known as P55 made it across two of the busiest highways in America(the 101 and 118) on July 30 between midnight and 2am, just 15 minutes west of me in the suburb of Thousand Oaks.................Astounding this is as there is no wildlife under/overpass anywhere along these highways from downtown L.A, out west into Ventura County and up into Santa Barbara............"This is the 4th documented successful crossing of the 101 Freeway since park rangers began studying local lions 15 years ago, in 2002"............ "During that time, 17 lions were killed trying to cross the freeway"............... "Early this year, a lioness was killed on the freeway, and in the following weeks, her kittens met the same fate"...............With his daring maneuver across the highways, P55 will have a chance to spread his genes and mate with female Pumas north of L.A. in the San Susana Mountains..................Now, if we can get the funding accomplished, the proposed wildlife overpass at the Chesbrough exit on the 101 in Agoura(adjacent to where I live), the dozen or so "trapped" Pumas roaming the Santa Monica Mountains would see some new Pumas arrive from the Santa Susana's, upping the chances for Pumas to get a "gene revitalizer", thus upping their chanes of continuing to roam Los Angeles basin for the next 100+ years

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://patch.com/california/northridge/mountain-lion-crosses-101-freeway-rare-survival-story&ct=ga&cd=CAEYByoUMTQxOTE1NDg2MDYzNTc1MDUwMzQyGjQ2OTIwYTk2ZWZjMTE1ODg6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNE8ayRRmzVNU99dmr3K9QP0th0jeQ

Mountain Lion Crosses 101 Freeway In Rare Survival Story

A young mountain lion has beaten the odds to make it across the 101 Freeway, and he didn't stop there, going on to test fate on the 118 too.

By Paige Austin (Patch Staff) - Updated August 11, 2017

P(Puma)55 is truly an acrobat, making it acorss the 101 and 118 freeways 

“The lack of connectivity also limits dispersal of young male mountain lions, who at about 1.5 years old leave their mother to find their own territory. Without the ability to easily leave the Santa Monica Mountains, it leaves young males trapped in another male’s territory, potentially increasing the chances of conflict,” according to the National park Service. “It is very rare for a male mountain lion born in the Santa Monica Mountains to survive past the age of two, based on the animals studied so far.”

Top left 118 and parallel to it a bit south is the 101---busy and heavily traveled;
Proposed wildlife overpass would be at the far left of this map where the 101 hwy line goes off the page(in Agoura, California suburb)

P-55 crossed the 101 Freeway on July 30th sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. shortly after he was caught on video in a backyard of a Newbury Park home. He crossed along the Conejo Grade, which is the paved freeway incline between the Conejo Valley and Oxnard Plain.LOS ANGELES, CA — Researchers today are celebrating a rare LA wildlife survival story after a young mountain lion managed to make it across the treacherous 101 Freeway.


The 101 is often at a standstill.............and packed 24 hours each day

The young lion known as P-55 is only the fourth documented successful crossing of the 101 Freeway since park rangers began studying local lions 15 years ago, in 2002. During that time, 17 lions were killed trying to cross the freeway. Early this year, a lioness was killed on the freeway, and in the following weeks, her kittens met the same fate.

The success of P-55 will have a major impact on Southern California’s mountain lion population because hemmed in lion populations tend to inbreed.

According to the National Park Service, “P-55, a subadult male who was recently collared in the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains, crossed the artery near Thousand Oaks last week soon after he was caught on video in a Newbury Park backyard.

The 118's 8 lane width is a deathtrap for wildlife

P-55 didn’t stop with the 101 Freeway either. He’s since crossed Highway 23 and the 118 Freeway and is roaming the Santa Susana Mountains. His freeway fearlessness is rare.

Artist rendering of proposed Chesbrough exit(101 hwy)
wildlife overpass

“The overwhelming pattern we’ve observed through GPS tracking is lions coming up to the edge of a freeway and turning around,” said Seth Riley, a wildlife ecologist at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “So it’s really interesting to see another lion get across. As a whole, however, lions face significant challenges moving around the fragmented landscape in and around the Santa Monica Mountains, especially across larger roads and through intensely developed areas.”