Four feisty felines: new mountain lion kittens found in California mountains
Researchers have added the four kittens to their ongoing study of mountain lions in the area; their mother is a mountain lion researchers have been tracking since January
Four new mountain lion kittens have been found by researchers studying the wild cats living in southern California’s Santa Monica Mountains. The find was announced by wildlife officials in video posts on Tuesday that showed the blue-eyed babies meowing, with one feisty kitten hissing and even taking a swipe at the person filming her.
The four female kittens are about five-and-a-half weeks old and are the first litter that has been found in the Simi Hills, a small area of habitat between the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountain ranges just north of Los Angeles.
Researchers have added the four kittens to their ongoing study of mountain lions in the area. Their mother is a mountain lion researchers have been tracking since January.
Researchers visited the kittens while their mother was away last week, taking tissue samples, conducting a general health check and marking them with ear tags, which will allow them to keep track of their movements as they grow up.
It’s the 15th den the researchers have marked as part of their study of mountain lions in the region.
Biologists have been studying the cougars to determine how they survive in fragmented wilderness amid metropolitan sprawl. Each member of the species, especially males, requires a very large home territory, and young cats face difficulties dispersing.