A mountain lion who had become a Southern California celebrity with his bold freeway crossings was struck and killed by a vehicle Monday on Interstate 5 near Castaic.

The animal known as P-32 was 21 months old, an adolescent in big-cat years. He had become the first male known to have successfully journeyed out of his home territory in the Santa Monica Mountains, making a solo sojourn this year to the Los Padres National Forest. On the way he crossed major freeways, most notably navigating the eight lanes of Highway 101 near Thousand Oaks in April.



His sister, P-33, had made her Highway 101 crossing near Camarillo about a month earlier.

“He was kind of showing us how it could be done,” National Park Service spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall said. “He was making his way.”

“The case illustrates the challenges that mountain lions in this region face,” said Dr. Seth Riley, wildlife biologist with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “P-32 conquered all kinds of freeways and highways to try and reach the Los Padres National Forest, but it was probably another dominant male that made him leave the area and attempt one last crossing.”

A young male reaching Los Padres National Forest – “the promised land,” Kuykendall said – was critical for helping grow the population after thinning for years. Since biologists began studying and tracking mountain lions in the region in 2002, P-32 became the 12th mountain lion killed on a freeway or highway.

The crossings – and deaths – spurred planning for a proposed wildlife crossing at Highway 101 near Liberty Canyon Road.

Beth Pratt, California director of the National Wildlife Federation, said she didn’t think “P-32 died in vain” and that his death shows the urgency for a crossing so mountain lions can get to areas in the Los Padres National Forest with deer to eat.

The proposed crossing, which could be a bridge or tunnel, is still being drawn up by state officials, and Pratt said cost estimates are about $4 million.

Her group is planning to launch a campaign featuring actor Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) in a few weeks to drum up more support for the proposal. Wilson will also talk about the most famous puma: P-22, known as the Hollywood Cat.

That mountain lion crossed Highway 101 and I-405 – the first known to do so – and settled in Griffith Park. But biologists concede he’s now locked into that area with no females to mate with and limited food options.

Kuykendall said what made P-32 so different was the number of crossings he made and finding a way to a sustainable area. She said most mountain lions get to the edge of a freeway and turn right back around.

“What makes it remarkable was not so much the successful crossings,” she said. “It was that he was even trying.”