Two L.A. Mountain Lions Die After Ingesting Rat Poison

LOS ANGELES (Patch.com) — Two mountain lions being tracked by the National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains died after ingesting rat poison, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Rat poison is a common wildlife killer in the region often taking down top predators from lions and coyotes to birds of prey. National Park Service officials have now confirmed five big cat deaths caused by rat poison in the Santa Monica Mountains, but almost every cat being tracked in the region has been found to have some rodenticide in their systems.

The two mountains killed included a female and a male lion that both died in their primes. A 6-year-old male lion found dead Sept. 9 in Topanga State Park died from rat poisoning, a necropsy confirmed. Rat poison was also detected in the liver of a 4-year-old female known as P-53, whose body was found in Malibu.

Researchers said they could not conclusively say if the rat poison caused the death of P-53 because her body was too decomposed when it was found Aug. 15. However, testing found four types […]

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