New babies — According to conservation biologists from Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR), two mountain lion kittens were born at Trione-Annadel State Park in early February to a female mountain lion being tracked by ACR’s Living with Lions research study. This marks the first litter delivered by the 3.5-year-old mother cat (named P11 for the study), who in September was captured and fitted with a GPS-tracking collar just outside the park’s boundary.
In general, mountain lion kittens have a 50 percent mortality rate prior to dispersing from mom at around 12 to16 months. However, of Sonoma County lions tracked by Living with Lions, the odds of survival are considerably lower. Quinton Martins, director of the program, remains hopeful about their outcome.
“These young cats hold the health of our shared landscape in their DNA. We look forward to sharing their story in coming months and connecting our greater community to their important role as a top carnivore,” he said.
For now, these tiny kittens, who were estimated to be about 10 days old when they were located by Martins, will be moved by the mother lion periodically until they can hit the trail with her, learning big cat skills over the course of the next year. The hunting responsibilities for the trio rest on this new mom, who will kill a deer, her preferred prey, on average two times a week until these kittens are grown.
– Photo Quinton Martins
