Biologists recently discovered 3-week-old mountain lion kittens in the Simi Hills, north of the 101 freeway.
The National Park Service has studied mountain lions in the area since 2002 to see how they're surviving in an increasingly urban area. The kittens' mom was one of the cougars the park service monitors via a GPS collar.
Called P-113, researchers also had marked her den in the Simi Hills when she was just a few weeks old, said Jeff Sikich, a wildlife biologist with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
"It has been super interesting following her," Sikich said.
Now around 3 ½ years old, this was her first litter and the blue-eyed kittens – one male, and two females – appeared healthy during brief check ups, he said. They were
dubbed P-141, P-142 and P-143.
A few months earlier, their mom had been traveling with a male mountain lion known as P-124, also in the Simi Hills area, Sikich said. The gestation period typically lasts around 90 days. After researchers received a signal that showed P-113 may be staying in one spot, they hiked out to check for kittens.
Kittens typically stay with their moms for the first 18 months, and there are still a lot of unknowns about what will happen with these young cougars. But if one or more use the 101 wildlife crossing, scheduled to open later this year, Sikich said they could become important for the Santa Monica Mountains population, south of the 101 freeway.
The small cougar population in the Santa Monicas is boxed in by development and highways – obstacles that have led to inbreeding, low genetic diversity and lions killing each other. Research has shown, however, that even one lion crossing into the area every few years could help boost genetic diversity.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Researchers discover litter of mountain lion kittens in Simi Hills
