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Bobcat, Mountain Lion Latest Victims Of Rat Poison In Food Chain On South Coast

(NPS Photo)
Bobcat B-372 was rececently found dead in Agoura Hills. Biologists say it died as a result of rat poison exposure.

There are more signs that rat poison is making it into the food chain for wildlife on the South Coasts, and sickening or killing big cats.  Biologists say a bobcat and a mountain lion both found dead tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticides.

The bobcat’s body was found in an Agoura Hills neighborhood, near the Simi Hills.  The mountain lion was found in the Santa Susana Mountains.

Biologists say forms of the poison have been found in 26 of 27 mountain lions tested in the Santa Monica Mountains.  The deaths of six mountain lions monitored in a research program are being blamed on the toxic chemicals.

Biologists have been urging people who live in and around the Santa Monica Mountains to use alternatives to rat poison.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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