Animal experts from the National Park Service (NPS) discovered two young mountain lions in a den located in the western portion of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The researchers found one male and one female kitten, which they designated as P-46 and P-47. They then proceeded to implant the kittens with electronic trackers that will allow them to monitor both animals in the wild.
"We continue to see successful reproduction, which indicates that the quality of the natural habitat is high for such a relatively urbanized area," Jeff Sikich, a biologist from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said.
"But these kittens have many challenges ahead of them, from evading other mountain lions, to crossing freeways, to dealing with exposure to rat poison."
P-46 And P-47's Parentage
According to the NPS's monitoring, a female mountain lion with the designation P-19 may likely be the mother of the two kittens. P-19's GPS locations remained in the area of the den over a three-week period, suggesting that she was nursing her newly-born kittens.
The researchers said that lions' den was located in a secluded part of the mountains surrounded by large boulders and dense vegetation.
Sikich and his colleagues have been monitoring P-19 since 2010, when she was still only a few weeks old. P-19 first gave birth to two litters that were sired by her own father, designated as P-12. However, the researchers have not detected any activity from P-12 since March 2015.
P-46 and P-47 are now undergoing DNA testing in order to find out whether they are also sired by P-19's father, or if they are the litter of another adult male lion, P-45.
Threat To Mountain Lion Survival
Inbreeding among the mountain lions of the Santa Monica Mountains is considered to be one of the biggest threats to their long-term survival. This is because the population of the animals is effectively limited to only an island of habitat.
Biologists have proposed the creation of a wildlife crossing over the Agoura Hills, which would link large portions of natural habitats from the Sierra Madres to the Santa Monica Mountains.
So far, researchers from the NPS have identified nine litters of mountain lion kittens at one den site.
The NPS has been studying the population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains since 2002 to determine how they animals are able to survive in an urbanized and highly fragmented habitat.
The agency is supported in their mountain lion research in part by the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, which receives funding from private donations.
Kittens P-46 and P-47Posted by Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Thursday, January 14, 2016
