A mountain lion was found dead along the center divider of the 405 Freeway Thursday afternoon, the second time a dead mountain lion has been discovered on a Southern California freeway in a month.
The cougar was spotted along the center divider between the Getty Center and the Skirball Center Drive freeway exit at about 2:30 p.m., said Austin Chavez, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol's West Los Angeles office.
“He was lying inside the center divider at that time one of our officers located the cougar and confirmed that he was dead,” Chavez said.
CHP notified the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Transportation about the incident.
The cause of the animal's death is under investigation. Chavez said the officer on scene said there was no indication the cougar suffered blunt force trauma from a car collision, but a collision with a vehicle has not been completely ruled out.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area officials said the mountain lion was not collared and was not part of the pack being studied by the National Park Service.
Last month, a mountain lion was found dead in the far right lane of Highway 101 near Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. National Wildlife Federation officials said the death was likely caused by a car.
The incident occurred near the construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Pass, a project scheduled for completion in 2026.
