Publication: L.A. Times

UCLA Expert: Rachel Blakey: Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science

Synopsis: Conservationists have long warned that Southern California mountain lions could vanish within decades due to inbreeding and loss of habitat. Now, biologists have identified another threat that could hasten their demise — extreme wildfires.

UCLA News: Research led by Blakey found that the 2018 Woolsey fire had greatly increased the odds of a mountain lion being struck fatally by a motorist or killed by a fellow panther in a territorial dispute. “The idea that mountain lions will run across freeways rather than take their chances in urban areas really reinforces how strongly mountain lions avoid humans,” she said.

Read more at L.A. Times.