Mountain lions living near urban areas in western North America face vehicle strikes, fragmented habitat, and persecution, requiring coexistence strategies that protect both human safety and cougar welfare.
Mountain lions in fragmented urban landscapes face genetic isolation causing inbreeding, vehicle mortality, and inability to disperse to find mates and territories. P-22 exemplified the welfare toll of isolation — a healthy male spending 12 years on a 7 km squared island with inadequate prey and no mates before being humanely euthanised following health deterioration. Livestock depredation lethal control causes welfare impacts from injury and death. Wildlife crossing infrastructure addresses habitat fragmentation at landscape scale, enabling natural movement and reducing vehicle mortality.