Audra Huffmeyer and Seth Riley discuss inbreeding between L.A. mountain lions | Sustainable LA Grand Challenge

Katerina Jowid
May 05, 2022
SLAGC News and Events

Publication: National Geographic

UCLA Expert: Audra Huffmeyer: Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology;

Seth Riley: Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Synopsis: Huffmeyer and Riley discussed their perspectives in a recent publication by National Geographic which reports evidence of L.A. mountain lions becoming inbred. Prior to this study, only one cat had been observed in the region with a kinked tail — in 2019.

UCLA News: “We’ve just reached a tipping point genetically,” says Huffmeyer. Study co-author Riley commented on a new wildlife overpass opening in 2025. “We are very confident that it will be super helpful for everything [wildlife], including mountain lions... by increasing connectivity.”