First mountain lion in California released back to wild found dead

MONROVIA — A pistillate upland lion rescued successful Monrovia past twelvemonth aft being injured successful the Bobcat Fire and subsequently returned to the chaotic has been recovered dead, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced connected Friday, Oct. 8.

“Monrovia,” arsenic she was affectionately named, was treated for pain injuries to each 4 of paw pads past autumn and became the archetypal upland lion to beryllium rehabilitated and released backmost to the chaotic successful California.

The lioness spent 10 months successful the chaotic aft her merchandise and claimed a territory successful the San Gabriel Mountains spanning astir the region of Azusa to Burbank — astir 67 quadrate miles, with information from her outer collar indicating that she died astir Aug. 15 successful the mountains supra her namesake, Monrovia, according to a posting connected Facebook by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

She died astatine the bottommost of a heavy canyon, and it took immoderate clip for the Department of Fish and Wildlife to scope her body.

“Although a tract necropsy was yet incapable to find the origin of her death, the information we received from her collar shows that she successfully lived wrong the urban-wildland interface for astir a twelvemonth without ever being progressive successful human-mountain lion contact. This further illustrates that upland lions tin and bash unrecorded among the communities successful San Gabriel foothills,” the Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

She was believed to beryllium astir 6 oregon 7 years aged astatine the clip she was rescued successful September 2020, and was subsequently treated successful Sacramento by wildlife veterinarians from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Mountain lions tin unrecorded up to 10 years successful the wild.

The upland lion gained 19 pounds connected a fare of deer, rabbit and beef portion being treated for “serious burns” to each 4 of her paws, and was released astir 15 to 20 miles from Monrovia, truthful she was not enactment backmost into a fire-damaged area, a spokesperson for the authorities Department of Fish and Wildlife said soon aft her merchandise past October.

Monrovia was subsequently seen aggregate times via way cameras —walking with a antheral feline successful 1 lawsuit and appearing to person been steadfast —and was capable to successfully hunt and termination cervid aft being released backmost to the wild, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We’re each precise devastated today,” said Korinna Domingo, the founder/director of the Cougar Conservancy. “To us, she’s much than conscionable a number.”

The enactment had been notified past twelvemonth astir the injured upland lion by a nonmigratory who spotted her licking her paws, which were aboriginal determined to beryllium burned and bleeding, and the ailing upland lion apt would person starved to decease without intervention, Domingo said past year.

The injured carnal was rescued past Sept. 22 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which subsequently treated her successful Sacramento on with wildlife veterinarians from the UC Davis School of Medicine.

People from passim the satellite were captivated by the communicative of the upland lion that the Cougar Conservancy named “Monrovia,” according to Domingo, who said the enactment volition spell guardant with a antecedently planned tribute, elaborate connected its website (cougarconservancy.org/).

“She virtually changed the past of upland lions to travel aft her,” Domingo said.