a wildlife tunnel under Highway 17 at Laurel Curve are gathering
strength. Plus the overpasses of Highway 101 over Coyote Creek
serve the same purpose by providing safe corridors for all migrating
animals to cross between the mountain ranges.
The California Department of Fish and Game estimates
that there is a population of 4,000 lions in California with that
number being stable or slightly shrinking in recent years due to
habitat encroachment. In 1990, Proposition 117, “the mountain
lion initiative,” was successfully passed and reclassifed cougars as
“specially protected mammals” and permanently banned the “sport
hunting” of mountain lions in California. In prior years, in 1907 to
1963 for example, mountain lions were called a “bountied predator”
and nearly 12,500 animals were shot, poisoned or trapped and
turned in for bounty money.
The Mountain Lion Foundation based in Sacramento has a
wealth of information about how concerned citizens can protect
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
cougars, their habitats and still safely enjoy our wonderful out-
door opportunities. “Mountain lions filfill a complex role in our
local environment. They keep the deer and elk herds on the move
so that they do not overgraze particular areas minimizing erosion
along riparian corridors and thereby enhancing habitat for other
animals. Think of mountain lions as guardians of the wilderness.
Though rarely seen, the raw beauty and power of the cougar helps
maintain our wild spaces that we know and love.”
MAY/JUNE 2016
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