Wildlife Corridor Poses Danger to People
The creation of a wildlife corridor connecting the Santa Ana Mountains to the Chino Hills area seems inevitable (“$13.5-Million Deal Saves Key Wildlife Area,” July 3), but amazingly, no one is willing to look past the environmentalist rhetoric and see the inherent public safety hazard that will result.
This corridor will funnel mountain lions into the Chino and Puente hills, a narrow arc of land extending all the way to Rose Hills in Whittier, and allow them to penetrate deeply into urbanized areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Does no one see the potential danger?
A grown lion may weigh from 90 to 150 pounds but can quite handily bring down an 800-pound elk. It can drag a deer 20 feet up into a tree. These are dangerous creatures by any measure. Why would we want them in our backyards?
A couple of years ago, two of the big cats cruised through Duarte neighborhoods, eating small pets and skulking around the grounds of an elementary school. I’m not sure the people of Hacienda Heights, Diamond Bar or Whittier would support this corridor idea if fully informed of the danger it poses to them and their children.
Brooks A. Pangburn
Mountain Lion Information
Center, Duarte
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