Radio-collaring data can help to observe whether or not lions are expanding in range, as well as keeping a record of births and deaths. If populations fall near or below the estimated minimum viable population size of 250 breeding individuals of each sex, if populations are declining, management could act in response by relocating individuals. Thankfully, such a situation has not been the case. Studies of lion response to relocation have shown that because lions are so intensely territorial, relocation may end in death by territory dispute, starvation, or because the lions die en route to their former territory. Besides relocation and protection by law, little can be done to aid lions in danger.
Few lions are in such danger, as populations are relatively stable and ranges are expanding.
Under Proposition 117, mountain lions are not likely to decline in their numbers in the near future. Management must focus now on reducing human-lion conflict. Proposition 117 allows only for those lions who pose an immediate threat to life or property to be removed by hunting, but this allowance may not be enough to hinder interactions in the long term. In heavily populated areas, it may be necessary to allow hunting or increase relocation efforts, unless lion numbers become scarce. Humans in those areas must take measures to prevent an increase in prey species by cultivating landscapes to deter prey species and allowing hunting in some of those areas.