Famous Mountain Lion With Cloudy Eye Killed on Road Where Cub Also Died

A famous mountain lion has been fatally hit by a car on the same road where her cub was killed.

The mountain lion nicknamed Uno had been crossing the Santiago Canyon Road in Orange County, California, when she was struck by a car, the California Mountain Lion Project at the University of California, Davis reported on Instagram.

Local veterinarian Scott Weldy and other professionals and locals rushed to help the lion. However, she "succumbed to massive head and chest injuries before significant treatment could be started," the group said.

Two of her cubs previously met the same fate. One of them died on Glenn Ranch Road, and another died on Santiago Canyon Road.

Uno crossed the road "successfully many times," but was out of luck on this occasion.

"She succumbed to the most common cause of death for local mountain lions in our area—being killed while crossing roads and highways, something that any local mountain lion has to do many times in a lifetime due to their large territories and the number of busy streets and roads in our area," the project said.

Uno became well known locally due to how often she was sighted and photographed around Orange County. She was beloved by the community, similar to P-22, another famous California mountain lion who died in December 2022 after suffering from chronic injuries.

Uno is also known as F312 to wildlife professionals. She got the name due to her right eye, which looked strange in photographs. This was the result of an old injury.

"Since it was clear who she was in the photos she was easily identified as a specific known individual—an unusual thing with mountain lions due to their similar looks from one to the other. She also was somewhat famous for her seeming laissez-faire demeanor around people at times—often paying little attention to hikers or others she might encounter. On one occasion, she walked right past the admission booth at one of the local wilderness parks without even a side glance (she didn't have to pay)."

The mountain lion gave birth to four cubs in her lifetime, none of whom survived. Other than the two that died due to road accidents, one disappeared and the other died from a disease.

Mountain lions are widespread throughout California but they are threatened by a variety of dangers. A recent study found that their numbers are estimated to be between 3,200 and 4,500. This is a lot less than officials originally thought, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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