The Los Angeles City Council is moving forward with an examination on the use of rat poisons in city parks after it was disclosed recently that a mountain lion living in Griffith Park may have been sickened from eating animals that had consumed rodents that ingested the poison.

P 22, a mountain lion that inhabits Griffith Park, is suffering from mange, and officials believe his illness may be related to rat poison in and around the park. (photo ourtesy of the National Park Service)

The mountain lion was discovered in the park in 2012 and has since been tracked by authorities with the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, a branch of the federal National Park Service. Remote cameras with night-viewing capability have been set up throughout the upper areas of Griffith Park to study the mountain lion’s behavior. In March, they realized the animal appeared to be ill and was suffering from mange. The mountain lion was captured and treated, and blood tests were taken. The tests results showed traces of rat poison, and authorities believe the cougar likely ate a coyote that had eaten rodents that ingested the poison, said Kate Kuykendall, a public information officer for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area.

“We investigate his kills, and the majority have been mule deer, but we know he’s eaten at least two coyotes,” Kuykendall said. “Two other mountain lions we are tracking in other parts of the Santa Monica Mountains had been exposed to rat poisons in that way, and it came up in the blood tests.”

Kuykendall said they will continue to monitor the mountain lion — known as P 22 — and the hope is the treatment will lessen the mange and other health ailments caused by ingesting poison. The larger issue is the use of rat poisons — also known as second-generation rodenticides — on public lands, which is being addressed at the local and state levels, Kuykendall said.

Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz, 5th District, and Tom LaBonge, 4th District, have introduced a motion calling for a report on the extent of the use of rat poisons in public parks. The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has compiled a report that will be examined on Monday, April 28, in the council’s Arts, Parks, Health, Aging and River Committee. The councilmen said the department of recreation and parks uses the poisons to control rodents, but it is unknown how much and how widespread the usage is, and how it affects the ecosystem. Inquiries to the department of recreation and parks were directed to assistant general manager Ramon Barajas, who did not return calls seeking comment.

Andy Shrader, deputy of environmental affairs for Koretz, said the poisons appear to be affecting a lot more animals than the mountain lion. Coyotes, bobcats and birds of prey are also being affected. The rat poisons, when ingested, prevent the rodents’ blood from clotting, eventually leading to death. Animals that feed on the dead or dying rodents can be sickened as a result.

“Owls and hawks are literally landing in people’s front yards up in the hills and are dying,” Shrader said. “One of the things we’re interested in is how this is impacting the natural species.”

LaBonge, who routinely hikes in Griffith Park, said he is also concerned about poisons harming larger animals and birds, and will be closely examining the results of the report. LaBonge said he once saw the mountain lion on a ridge in the park early one morning, and added that the cat is a valuable part of the ecosystem.

“I am concerned about the welfare of all wildlife … and I’m concerned now that [the mountain lion] is being harmed by chemicals,” LaBonge said, adding that he doesn’t know the extent of the use of rat poisons in the park. “But we are going to find out.”

Some members of the community are also joining the fight against using rat poisons — commonly sold in the form of pellets. Susan Sawn, president of the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council, said the council approved a motion on Monday in support of the city’s efforts to examine, and potentially prohibit, the use of rat poisons in parks.

“I think everybody was surprised to find out it was being used in Griffith Park,” Swan said. “It’s the natural food chain. P 22 was a shock for a lot of people. It doesn’t stop with the creature you are trying to kill. It goes to your cat, it goes to your dog and it could go to your child.”

Alison Simard, a member of the nonprofit Citizens for L.A. Wildlife and a Laurel Canyon resident, said she believes the problem is more widespread than people know.

“We are getting reports of hawks and owls literally falling out of the sky, and coyotes going on their death walks in people’s yards,” Simard said. “Where we live, among the wildlife, we are seeing it up close and personal. Based on the cataclysmic effects its having, it’s got to be more than just people going to Home Depot and buying it.”

Sarah Christie, a spokeswoman for the California Coastal Commission, said the commission voted earlier this month to prohibit the use of rat poisons and rodenticides in the Santa Monica Mountains. Because the mountains are located over a large portion of the region, the county would be responsible for implementing a ban. Christie said representatives of the county are expected to appear before the commission this summer with a plan to implement a ban. She anticipated the earliest that it could be in place would be by the end of the summer. The Los Angeles City Council could potentially act more quickly, however, and prohibit the use of the rodenticides in locations such as Griffith Park, she said.

Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) is also seeking to address the issue at the state level, and has authored a bill – AB 2657 — which would ban all sales and usage of second-generation rodenticides. A state law has already been approved banning the sale to the public of second-generation rat poison beginning on July 1. However, the poisons will still be available commercially. Bloom’s bill is currently making its way through committees.

“There is mounting evidence that these second-generation anticoagulants are being consumed by rodents, and these rodents are being consumed by larger predators causing injury or death,” Bloom said. “We’ve seen so many photographs of P 22, and to see that photograph where he was sick was very disheartening.