Blue Eyed Mountain Lion Cubs

Wallpaper Description:

By STEVE SCAUZILLO | [email protected] | San Gabriel Valley Tribune
PUBLISHED: August 30, 2016 at 10:25 pm | UPDATED: August 28, 2017 at 6:11 am
LOS ANGELES >> A population of mountain lions living in the Santa Monica Mountains faces possible extinction in the near future due to inbreeding, according to a study released Tuesday.

In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, wildlife researchers from the National Park Service, UCLA, UC Davis and Utah State University gave the lions a 99.7 percent chance of extinction over the next 50 years unless more lions become part of the gene pool.

ADVERTISING

Scientists say without any changes, their disappearance would be a rapid descent, with decreasing genetic variability evident as early as 15 years from today, reaching a point of no return in about 35 years.