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Los Angeles – Like many urban singles, the P-22 mountain lion leads a lonely life in a habitat that is too small. And he has trouble finding a partner in the big city.
Famous for crossing two highways and settling in a huge park in Los Angeles, this fat lone cat has become a symbol of the diminishing genetic diversity of wild animals, which must remain trapped by sprawling development, without which they may die.
In the hope of combating the extinction of mountain lions and other species requiring flexibility, transport officials and conservationists will build a wildlife passageway, financed mainly by private funds, on a major highway in southern California. It will provide big cats, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other creatures with a safe way to open up space, better access to food and potential partners.
The span along the US 101 will be only the second animal crossing in a state where tunnels are more common. Officials say it will be the first of its kind near a major and largest metropolis in the world, spreading over 200 feet above 10 lanes on a busy highway and on a busy road. 39 access north-west of downtown LA
"When the highway came in, it cut off an ecosystem, and we are now seeing the impacts," said Beth Pratt of the National Wildlife Federation to the Associated Press.
National Parks Service, via AP
Scientists tracking mountain lions equipped with GPS collars discovered that the roads were largely intended to trap animals in the Santa Monica Mountains, which skirt the Malibu coast and cross the center of Los Angeles until they reach the end of their life. Griffith Park, where the P-22 is installed.
"They can not get out of here to get appointments, and cats can not come in to have appointments … For those of us in LA, have a romantic perspective canceled by traffic is something we can all relate to, "says Pratt.
The researchers say this isolation results in an imminent genetic collapse for the mountain lions. According to a study published this year by the University of California at Los Angeles, the loss of habitat has led people to consanguinity that could lead to extinction within 15 years, at less than big cats do not regularly connect to other populations to increase their diversity. University of California, Davis; and the National Parks Service.
The $ 87 million bridge last month entered the final design phase. Engineer Sheik Moinuddin, project manager at the California Department of Transportation, is about to re-enter the next two years and complete the work by 2023. The work will take place mainly at night and will not require long stops on Highway 101, officials said.
Moinuddin said Caltrans considered it was a "special" project that, he hopes, will inspire other people of this type in the state.
According to Pratt, one of the reasons for this particularity is that 80% of the funds needed for its construction will come from private sources. She is responsible for fundraising and uses P-22 – "Brad Pitt of the Cougar World" – as a poster for the campaign.
"He's famous all over the world, he's handsome, everyone loves him," she said about the cougar photographed in her park, with the Hollywood sign in the background .
Although he is the face of the project, it is unlikely that P-22 will use the bridge as it is confined to the park many kilometers away. But many of his relatives could benefit, said Pratt.
More than $ 13.5 million in private funding has already been raised, Pratt said. Officials plan to give naming rights to the bridge if an entity or an individual – perhaps a Hollywood studio or a star – ponies a large donation, she said.
The remaining 20% will come from public funds already earmarked for conservation projects, officials said.
Some 300,000 cars a day travel along the 101 to Agoura Hills, a small town surrounded by a mosaic of protected natural areas connected by the new crossing. Residents regularly spot tarantulas, coyotes and bobcats in their backyard and enjoy a short walk in hiking trails and bike paths offering breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.
Motorists traveling on a busy highway in the Liberty Canyon area could double-tap under a 165-foot-wide bridge, with brush and trees growing above, joining homogeneously the slopes of rolling hills. two sides of the track.
"And who knows, you may see an animal pass through while it crosses," Pratt said.
From the perspective of this animal that meanders from or from the Santa Monica Mountains, it is hoped that the topography will be indistinguishable from the landscape on either side, said architect Clark Stevens. Its design will total about 8 acres of landscape – of which the top of the bridge occupies about one acre.
He works with biologists and engineers to design berms and troughs with high edges that block sound and light in the corridors below.
"Ideally, animals will never know that they are on a bridge," said Stevens, of the Santa Monica Resource Conservation District. "It's a landscape that flows on a highway, it's a part of the ecosystem that has been lost."
Wildlife crossings – bridges and tunnels – are common in Western Europe and Canada. A famous park in Banff National Park, Alberta straddles the Trans-Canada Highway and is frequently used by bears, moose and elk. The first in California opened last October near Temecula, about 100 kilometers north of San Diego.
The Los Angeles area bridge received almost universal support, which is unusual for a public works project. The draft document on environmental impact received nearly 9,000 comments – with only 15 opposites, according to the NWF.
Fran Pavley, a resident of Agoura Hills, a retired senator, said that one of her neighbors was worried about the costs.
"He arrived on board after learning that he would be financed by private funds," she said.
Stevens said he was encouraged by Caltrans' dedication to the project and his promise to consider the same thing more.
"Every hole in the highway must be exploited – it's a game of chance," he said. "The more animals there are, the better they will be."
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