Mountain lion welfare and urban coexistence depends on maintaining adequate deer prey in suburban landscapes while managing conflict through evidence-based methods.
Urban mountain lions face acute welfare threats from vehicle strikes causing traumatic injury and death, and from rodenticide poisoning causing prolonged bleeding. Those that habituate to humans and attack pets or livestock face lethal removal. Conflict prevention through securing livestock and removing attractants reduces lion mortality while protecting community safety. Infrastructure including wildlife crossings directly prevents the vehicle-strike welfare harms that kill an estimated 10-15% of mountain lions in some California study populations annually.