LA Built a $92 Million Bridge for Mountain Lions — Here's What the Cameras Already Show

📘 What can a wildlife bridge actually prove? The full evidence is in my e-book THE CHANGING WILD → https://pay.kiwify.com/2OdtkqQ On December 2, 2026, California is scheduled to open the largest wildlife crossing in the world: a 210-foot bridge over the 101 Freeway, built mostly for the mountain lions of Los Angeles. Its official cost is $92 million, and recent reports put the final bill above $100 million. Weeks before it opened, cameras at its base already recorded a female mountain lion with two kittens. But why build it at all? In this investigation we follow 24 years of National Park Service research in the Santa Monica Mountains: P-22, the cougar who crossed two freeways to reach Griffith Park; P-12, the only lion known to cross the 101 at the time; the 2016 models that put the risk of extinction at 99.7%; the 2022 study that found the first physical signs of inbreeding; and why the solution came down to one new lion every two to four years. No speculation. Every number comes from the National Park Service, Caltrans, the State of California and peer-reviewed research, and the sources are listed below. 📍 Where are you watching from? Was the bridge worth it: YES or NO? I'll pin the best answer. 🔔 Subscribe to Known Range for real science investigations into North American wildlife. CHAPTERS 0:00 A mother and two kittens at the bridge 1:44 The island inside Los Angeles 2:46 P-22 4:00 Three suspects 5:56 The only lion who made it across 7:08 99.7% 7:46 The proof in the DNA 8:53 The bridge at Liberty Canyon 9:55 What happened to P-22 11:10 Is it worth it? 12:19 What the cameras show 13:45 The part you can fix 14:54 The hillside keeps going SOURCES The bridge • Caltrans: US-101 Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing at Liberty Canyon — https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/d... • Office of the Governor (Feb 2026): California closes in on completing the world's largest wildlife crossing — https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/02/02/cal... • Spectrum News (Oct 2026): Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing set to open Dec. 2 — https://spectrumlocalnews.com/ca/cali... • KTLA: World's largest wildlife crossing finally has an opening date — https://ktla.com/news/local-news/anne... The mountain lions • National Park Service: Mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains — https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/nature... • NPS (2022): Southern California mountain lions show first reproductive effects of inbreeding — https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/news/s... • NPS (2023): Final necropsy results released for mountain lion P-22 — https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/news/f... • NPS (2011): Mountain lion P-18 killed while attempting I-405 crossing — https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/news/m... • PBS SoCal (2016): L.A.'s mountain lions can survive, if they can cross the 101 — https://pbssocal.org/redefine/las-mou... • UCLA Sustainable LA: Benson finds Santa Monica mountain lions in danger of extinction — https://www.sustainablela.ucla.edu/bl... • ABC News (2012): Mountain lion calls Los Angeles' Griffith Park home — https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline... Rat poison • Animal Legal Defense Fund: California AB 1322 — https://aldf.org/project/an-act-relat... This video is for educational and informational purposes. Some footage is illustrative and does not show the specific animals or places described, including P-22, the female at the bridge and some of the bridges shown. Maps are simplified. #MountainLion #P22 #WildlifeCrossing #LosAngeles #KnownRange