Have you ever crossed the freeway? Do you think you would
even try? Would you survive?
Wildlife is disappearing daily. Some habitats are becoming
only a mere memory. Overall, the world of our ancestors doesn’t and will never
exist again. Big cities take away precious land while rural towns are using
resources just to survive.
In Los Angeles alone, the sprawling metropolis spans from
the valley to the ocean — infecting every inch with our large ecological
footprint. The 18.5 million residents of L.A. have lifestyles that dump metric
tons of carbon dioxide into the air and contribute to the acidification of the
ocean. The 42.2 million people that visited Los Angeles in 2015 adds even more
pollution.
While there are many things humans are doing wrong, there
are a few things we can start doing right.
There are pockets of land across L.A. that are animal safe
havens — places like Griffith Park. However, animals that live there are
specifically confined to these areas and will most likely meet their death if
they try to venture.
From 2002 to 2012, Dr. Seth Riley led a National Park
Service team that trapped 42 cougars: 26 from the Santa Monica Mountains, five
from the Santa Susana Mountains and the rest throughout the region, according
to James Gibson of the Earth Island Journal.
The12 males from the Santa Monica Mountains died — four died on the
freeway, five were attacked by older territorial males, one was shot by the
police and one died from unknown causes.
The only male to survive was a young bachelor lovingly named
P22. This mountain lion became an icon for the unsafe world humans created for
wildlife in L.A. People became engrossed in this lion’s story of survival and
loss. While these species are somewhat solitary creatures, P22 will most likely
never have a mate and pass down his genes. And really, he’s just struggling to
survive.
While P22 has fared freeways and human toxins, he also faces
potential starvation. Lacking food, P22 allegedly snuck into the Los Angeles
Zoo and ate a koala. Not because he wanted to, simply out of necessity to
survive another day.
Great predators that used to own this area are now confined
and meet their untimely deaths in horrific ways — P22 is just one famous
example.
In response to the crisis, CalTrans proposed to build a
wildlife overpass on the 101 Freeway. According to Los Angeles Times reporter
Martha Groves, “the 165-foot-wide, 200-foot-long overpass near Liberty Canyon
Road would connect the Santa Monica Mountains on the south with the Simi Hills
and Santa Susana Mountains.”
Wildlife corridors connect open spaces. With a lack of
connectivity between habitats, species become isolated and have to resort to
actions like P22. In addition, species have increased inbreeding and decreased
genetic diversity, ultimately decreasing their likelihood to survive. By
connecting these pockets of land, each local species have a greater chance of
survival.
This simple solution could help save the city’s wildlife.
Urbanization will only continue increasing in the city, but providing safe
passageways for animals of all types will foster an increase of biodiversity in
the area, saving a little bit of the natural world in the big city. Imagine if
you were to cross the freeway, have no food or only had relatives to breed with
— your survival rate wouldn’t be much higher.
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