Move lions, don’t build bridge


Am I hearing this correctly?

A wildlife bridge for $88 million when kids are starving and thousands are homeless in Los Angeles alone? Talk about misplaced priorities.

The poor 24 cougars in the Santa Monica Mountains have difficulty finding mates and get killed on the 101 trying to cross. To help them migrate to an area that may offer more mates, less inbreeding and plenty of hunting, the wildlife “experts” have demanded a bridge be built. They say it will be paid for by donations, but they’ve raised only $18 million to date.

Guess who will pay the deficit? Taxpayers.

The resident cougars will fight to death to keep their mates and territories. Not very promising for the newcomers who must try to find new land and mates.

According to the experts, a cougar needs about 50 to 100 square miles to thrive. Apparently, the promised land is about onethird of that and ringed on all sides by freeways This will have consequences for Simi Valley. I predict another bridge will be demanded for the 118.

Small pets and (God forbid) children in Simi may be on the menu if the carnivores can’t find the elusive mule deer. Residents who own dogs, cats and livestock will face more expenses for improved fences, sheds and enclosures with screened roofs, guard dogs, etc.

Cougars can jump 14 to 18 feet high. Pets can’t be left out of sight even in fenced yards.

You can’t sue a cougar, but probably whoever enabled them via the bridge. Hopefully Simi authorities will protest to the proper agencies to stop this monstrously expensive project.

Why not relocate the cougars truly into the wild? Even with today’s high gas prices, a trip by truck would cost a lot less than $88 million.

As more cougars and the 10 now wearing collars are tranquilized and moved, the genetic diversity will change over time. In this case, time is really money—$88 million of it.

Sten Lindgren
Thousand Oaks