Habitat Fragmentation Causes Inbreeding in California Cougars -

[xchrom]

http://www.livescience.com/42500-cougar-inbreeding-habitat-fragmentation.html

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P-32, shown here, is one of three mountain lion kittens born recently in the Santa Monica Mountains that are the result of first-order inbreeding.
Credit: National Park Service - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/42500-cougar-inbreeding-habitat-fragmentation.html#sthash.RDpYimia.dpuf

Three mountain-lion cubs born recently in Southern California have been identified as inbred, adding to a growing list of inbreeding cases amongst these animals as a result of habitat fragmentation in this region, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

The three cubs — two females and one male — were born last month in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Los Angeles. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted preliminary DNA tests on all three of the cubs and their parents to identify their genetic makeup, and found that the cubs' father was also the father of their mother. [World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]

This is the third of six mountain-lion litters that the researchers have identified as inbred over the past decade or so, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday (Jan. 9).

"Unfortunately, this litter of kittens is the latest example of first-order inbreeding, in which a father mates with his offspring," Seth Riley, an urban wildlife expert at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said in a statement. "Allowing safe passage from the Simi Hills into the Santa Monica Mountains is our best shot at addressing the lack of genetic diversity in the local population."

- See more at: http://www.livescience.com/42500-cougar-inbreeding-habitat-fragmentation.html#sthash.RDpYimia.dpuf

[hunter]

1. More damage done by our automobile culture.

In a perfect world cities would be islands in the wilderness connected by overhead or underground electric rail transportation.

We ought to be ripping up highways and removing low density suburban and "mini-ranch" development in favor of no-automobile, low energy lifestyles.