California researchers have long wondered: How many mountain lions live in the state? They now have an answer. CapRadio's Manola Secaira has more. The last time researchers guessed at the state's mountain lion population was in the 80s. Now, decades later, new research tells us there's about 4,500 mountain lions in California. Justin Dellinger is a large carnivore biologist who led this research. He says this estimate helps researchers understand the health of mountain lions overall. Dellinger: "ideally, this serves as a baseline and say every 5 to 10 years, you update it so that you can look at things like the trend in the population. Is it stable? Is it increasing? Decreasing?" He says one area of concern for researchers involves mountain lions in Southern California. Roads and other human structures have limited their ability to roam and caused inbreeding, which could eventually lead to a decline in their numbers. But Dellinger says his research suggests there hasn't been a steep population decline in the area just yet. Dellinger: "We still need to actively be working to restore connectivity in Southern California right now. But densities and survival rate and things like that are showing us that they do have some time." He says it's important to add structures like wildlife bridges to major roads so mountain lions, and other animals, can cross safely.
California researchers now have an answer to how many mountain lions live in the state
