01/06/2019
Putting out rat poison can have deadly consequences to all animals, not just rats and mice, but to all who prey on them.
Remember how P-23 was found dead near the side of Malibu Canyon Road earlier this year (January 2018)? We think she was struck and killed by a car. Anyway, we have some bad news to report. We recently received her necropsy report and it showed she had been exposed to anticoagulant rodenticide, aka, rat poison. The lab results detected FIVE anticoagulant rodenticides in her liver. Thatβs a lot!
So the sad stats are this: 17 of 18 of our mountain lions have tested positive for exposure to one or more anticoagulant rodenticides and three have died directly of poisoning.
ICYMI, we are part of an educational campaign called that is hoping to raise awareness about the effects of anticoagulant rodenticide. During two decades of research, our biologists have found that 92% of bobcats, 83% of coyotes and 94% of mountain lions that we've tested were exposed to one or more compounds. Along with the Santa Monica Mountains Fund and other partners and organizations, we are asking for your help in letting your neighbors and friends know that rat poison is sickening, and in some cases, killing our local wildlife and making our domesticated pets sick. Can you help us spread the word? -Ranger Ana Beatriz