{"id":877544,"date":"2026-10-10T14:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T14:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877544\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T14:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T14:40:17","slug":"114m-california-wildlife-crossing-to-track-animal-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/877544\/","title":{"rendered":"$114M California wildlife crossing to track animal happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers are concerned about how animals really feel about a long-awaited and over-budget wildlife crossing<\/a> \u2014 attaching tracking collars to measure data linked to their emotions.<\/p>\n

The $114 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing<\/a> is set to open over the 101 Freeway in December and will reconnect species like mountain lions and bears that were cut off from land opposite the busy thoroughfare.<\/p>\n

Officials held a press conference on Thursday at the site of bridge<\/a>, explaining that said animals will wear \u201cbiologging tags\u201d that will measure their heart rate, GPS data and body temperature.<\/p>\n

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The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing rises above the lanes of the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, Calif.. CalTrans District 7<\/p>\n

A rendering shows the wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway. Wallis Annenberg Foundation<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be able to see not just how the animals move near the crossing, but how they are physiologically affected,\u201d said Seth Riley, chief wildlife ecologist for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.<\/p>\n

The goal of the tags is to see how animals interact with the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre they happy to go up on there and their heart rate doesn\u2019t change, or what is it like to be near the freeway? That will be a new kind of data that we\u2019re interested in,\u201d Riley added.<\/p>\n

Scientists have begun fitting deer with the tags and mountain lions are up next, they said.<\/p>\n

Beth Pratt, president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund, said the bridge is about conserving wildlife and making sure mountain lions don\u2019t go extinct.<\/p>\n

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The bridge \u2014 which is 210 feet long and 174 feet wide, with a concrete base \u2014 is set to open on Dec. 2. CalTrans District 7<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crossing is about the next century of wildlife preservation in the Santa Monica Mountains. It\u2019s about the mountain lion population not going extinct,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The bridge \u2014 which is 210 feet long and 174 feet wide, with a concrete base \u2014 is set to open on Dec. 2.<\/p>\n

The crossing was inspired by the outpouring of grief surrounding the death of the \u201cHollywood Lion,\u201d P22, famously pictured in front of the iconic Hollywood sign in 2012, who died from injuries suffered after being hit by a car attempting to cross the 101.<\/p>\n

The wildlife crossing\u2019s price tag could rise to $114 million. Pedro Colo for CA Post<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom said California had committed $54 million when he broke ground on the crossing in 2022, and said another $10 million would complete the project, which would also be funding by philanthropists.<\/p>\n

By 2025, that figure had hit $92 million and could soar to a whopping $114 million, with taxpayers contributing $77 million so far.<\/p>\n

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