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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE CROSSING
HEADLINE: Wildlife Crossing Will Aid California’s Mountain Lions, Other Species
TEASER: Vegetated overpass restores critical wildlife corridor blocked by highways
PUBLISHED AT: (6/15/22 & 4:33P)
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mike O’Sullivan, Roy Kim
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, National Park Service, National Wildlife Federation
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:46
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRODUCTION))
[[An ambitious project in California will create a wildlife bridge across a busy highway, providing a safe corridor for mountain lions and other species. As Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the effort aims to help animals hemmed in by growing cities.]
((NARRATOR))
U.S. Route 101, a major commuter highway in California, passes through the roaming grounds of many animals, ((Mandatory CG: National Park Service)) including mountain lions. Drivers, residents and hikers seldom see the big cats, ((End courtesy))
but they roam these hills.
[[FOR RADIO: Jeff Sikich is a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service.))
((Jeff Sikich, National Park Service Wildlife Biologist))
“They’re successfully reproducing and raising young. And they’re staying elusive and pretty much out of sight from people. Even us researchers, when we know where they are — they have a radio collar, I have an antenna — I rarely see these cats in the wild.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: National Park Service))
But mountain lions — also called pumas and cougars — face a problem. Highways are barriers for these solitary creatures, which need large swaths of land ((end courtesy)) to track their prey and find mating opportunities.
[[FOR RADIO: Again, wildlife biologist Sikich.]]
((Jeff Sikich, National Park Service Wildlife Biologist))
“We’ve documented close inbreeding, fathers breeding with daughters, granddaughters and even great-granddaughters, and this has led to very low genetic diversity.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: National Park Service))
Genetic diversity is so low that it could kill off the species in this region.
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: Living Habitats/National Wildlife Federation))
The solution: a wildlife bridge covered with vegetation at this place called Liberty Canyon.
((Mandatory CG: National Wildlife Federation))
Ground was broken on Earth Day, April 22nd, and construction of the 60-meter wildlife overpass will take three years.
((Mandatory CG: National Park Service))
These animals deserve to have their habitat preserved, says another wildlife expert.
((FOR RADIO: Miguel Ordeñana ((PR: or-day-NYAH-nah)) of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.))
((Miguel Ordeñana, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County))
“From an ethical standpoint, a lot of these species, especially the ones that I study, we have records that they’ve been here since the Ice Age. And some of them outlived the Ice Age extinction.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: National Park Service))
Including mountain lions, which have been in California for 30,000 years.
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: National Park Service))
The most famous is P-22, a reclusive celebrity. “P” stands for "puma," and the National Park Service assigned the number. ((Mandatory cg: Miguel Ordeñana)) About 10 years ago, P-22 left these mountains, crossed two freeways, and now roams Griffith Park — 1,700 hectares ((Mandatory cg: National Park Service)) of terrain in the heart of Los Angeles — coexisting, largely unseen, with humans.
((FOR RADIO: Beth Pratt of the National Wildlife Federation, via Skype))
((Beth Pratt, National Wildlife Federation)) ((Skype))
“In any other state in this country, P-22 would have been removed or killed immediately upon detection. Here, L.A. says yes to native wildlife and we want this wildness among us, and now P-22 is a folk hero who has his own P-22 Day in his honor.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: National Wildlife Federation))
P-22 was the face of a fund drive to create this 90 million-dollar vegetated crossing, ((Mandatory cg: National Park Service)) which will also help coyotes and deer, small species such as lizards,
((Mandatory cg: National Park Service))
and the most elusive of all, the wide-ranging mountain lion.
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles
NewsML Media TopicsEnvironment
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJune 15, 2022 17:05 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
