Second mountain lion killed after livestock attack in the Sonoma Valley

A mountain lion that killed a goat on a Kenwood property was put to death last week, sparking an effort by environmentalists to educate landowners about the benefits of the big cats.

The July 26 death is the second such state-sanctioned killing in the last eight months of a mountain lion that has preyed on livestock in the Sonoma Valley, according to Audubon Canyon Ranch, a conservation group based in Stinson Beach.

The 16-month-old lion, dubbed “P6,” was the subject of a research project and known to wildlife fans outside Sonoma Valley. Images of the animal had been captured on video and photos by the group, which shared them on social media.

Two of its seven GPS-collared lions - which are studied in its Living with Lions project - have now been killed in the last eight months in the Sonoma Valley.

On Dec. 14, a 14-month-old sibling of P6 from an earlier litter, named “P2,” was put to death after killing two sheep in the Glen Ellen area, according to Audubon Canyon Ranch.

Audubon Canyon Ranch is attempting to educate local landowners about the importance that mountain lions play in their habitat along the Mayacamas Mountains and encourage proper fencing and boarding of livestock and pets to prevent further occurrences.

“This is happening because we have more encroachment by humans in the mountain lion ecosystem,” said Wendy Coy, spokeswoman for the group. “We are moving into mountain lion territory.”

Landowners whose livestock or pets are killed by a mountain lion can apply to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for a depredation permit that allows them to capture and kill the animal, said department spokesman Kyle Orr.

Once the landowner obtains the permit, he or she can capture the mountain lion - typically by luring them into a cage containing the carcass of their partially-eaten prey - and kill the animal themselves or hire a contractor to do the job.

Last year, six permits were issued in Sonoma County and four mountain lions were killed, according to department records. In 2016, five permits were issued and three were killed.

Audubon Canyon had success in February with an 8-year-old male mountain lion - named “P5” - who killed a goat near Kenwood. It worked with the landowner to educate him on the importance of lions to the local ecosystem, Coy said. The landowner, who did not want to be identified, did not go through with the kill on P5, who had been tracked through a 250-square-mile area in Sonoma and Napa counties, she said.

Mountain lions help maintain balance in the local deer population, the animal’s prime prey, representing about 75 percent of its local food source, Quinton Martins, lead researcher for the Audubon Canyon project, said in a statement. He contends an expanding deer population can hinder the growth of new trees and vegetation, trigger erosion, and curb fish and butterfly diversity.

“Mountain lions, as top carnivores, are important in maintaining the integrity of our ecosystem,” he said. “It is fantastic to know that mountain lions still roam this incredible landscape, and the Living with Lions project will do all it can to help people coexist with the wildlife here.”

While there has been an uptick in local mountain lion sightings, Audubon Canyon Ranch noted the animals are nocturnal and do not like to encounter humans.

Attacks are rare. Since 1890, there have been 16 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California, six of them fatal, according to state records. The last attack occurred in September 2014 in Santa Clara County.