Richard Collins: Mountain lions trapped by California highways 

Richard Collins: Natural disasters like fire are not the main threat to California's mountain lions - it's major, multi-lane highways.

Cats are in the news. Since May 13, mountain-lion cubs have been born to five mothers in California’s Santa Monica Mountains, the largest number of births recorded since studies of this small, highly endangered population began 18 years ago. 

A huge forest fire destroyed much of the habitat in 2018, but natural disasters are not the main threat to the cats; these secretive animals face creeping human encroachment. As the area was ‘developed’, they were hemmed in between highways, including the notorious multi-lane Route 101.