CDFW Investigates The Event Of A Mountain Lion Shot Dead In Santa Ana

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CDFW is looking into the recent shooting of El Cobre, a collared male mountain lion, in the Santa Ana Mountains. On July 02, 2021, Captain of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Law Enforcement Division, Patrick Foy, said that the dead body of a lion with a monitoring collar was discovered in Orange County (OC). Foy did not offer any information other than the news and the fact that CDFW has started a probe as the investigation is in its early phase.

Foy also said that the Department could use common people’s assistance in identifying the person who might have shot the lion. Foy requested people with any further information to share it with CDFW through its CalTip hotline, to aid in identifying that person or any related witness activity.

Foy stated that investigators as well as wildlife officers like him attempt to single out any evidence. The lion’s carcass is regarded as a primary piece of evidence, which they have. As the next step, they would not only check the reason for El Cobre’s death but also backtrack to discover where the animal came from.

Foy has clarified that a CDFW member did not kill El Cobre, formally marked M294 and also called Scar. In May 2021, Scar was also thought to be trapped in a Williams Canyon-based livestock enclosure, where it had supposedly killed a goat. Winston Vickers, an expert in mountain lions, from the University of California, Davis, equipped Scar with a collar in the recent past. For your information, here, the term ‘collar’ refers to a device used to monitor the movements of the animal.

In May 2021, Vickers highlighted the importance of Scar to the Colorado region when it turned out to be the first collard wild cat there. It gave a beacon of hope to local scientists for the future of the struggling lion population in the area.

Vickers was mainly keen on learning whether Scar was producing kittens, plus whether it had crossed Interstate-15 or not.

Scar was never captured before Vickers and his team did it with the help of CDFW staff. As for Vickers, Scar was somewhere in its middle years when they captured the animal. Vickers stated that Scar was a sudden inclusion in the collaring process that his team intended to begin in the 2021 fall season.

Vickers expressed his disappointment as he learned about Scar’s death. Vickers called Scar a treasured and rare animal, regionally and with regards to the data it could offer–given the genetic state of lions in the Santa Ana Mountains.

Vickers is unhappy about losing a mountain lion in the same way as with Scar. Vickers and his team’s research animals represent plenty of money and hours invested to have collars bought and get the devices onto those animals. Vickers stated that he does not like losing Scar, as it was a fascinating animal at many levels. At the same time, Vickers underlined that he and his team often find themselves losing mountain lions during their study on the animals. The high rate of the lion’s mortality means that it is important to cope with the above-mentioned situation.

Korinna Domingo, the LA-based nonprofit Cougar Conservatory’s director, stated that she works with Vickers at a close level, and that she was present where the expert collared Scar. For your information, the nonprofit organization in LA works to lessen human harm in the number of mountain lions that live in SoCal.

The nonprofit referenced the death of Scar in a recent post on its online site. The post indicates that Scar was shot. Nevertheless, Domingo stated that she could not confirm whether it was killed with no permit, or whether a community member is to blame for it. Domingo recommended checking with CDFW and its probe for those kinds of details. Domingo also believes in the ability of CDFW to do a thorough investigation into this matter. At the same time, she confirmed that Scar’s body was discovered in the Southern California mountain range.

Domingo also stated that she talked to the people who own the enclosure where Scar was supposedly discovered in a trapped state. Nevertheless, the Colorado property’s owners refused the proposal for a costless lion-proof livestock enclosure from the nonprofit organization.

Scar was not discovered in a trapped state in the enclosure, but rather its presence there was confirmed with the hair of the animal. It appears that the personnel involved in the operation used the fallen hair as evidence that the lion was in the enclosure. LA Weekly reported that the precise location would be withheld, since it is still a developing wildlife story. So, people are urged to call CDFW at its CalTip phone number, 888-​334-2258, if they have any details about the matter.