Mountain Lion kittens are observed with enthusiasm by scientists.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Scientists from the National Park Service have discovered a few mountain lion kittens in June 2016 in the Santa Susana Mountains.
Thanks to the technology provided by the Global Positioning System, researchers were able to track the mothers because they had a special tracking device attached to them.
According to Park Service officials, the same male, known as P-38, was monitored through the Global Positioning System as it spent time with both mothers before the cubs were born. This indicates the fact that these kittens most likely have the same father.
One of the mothers is a five-year-old female, P-39, which scientists have been observing for about a year now. The other mother is a six-year-old female, P-35, which was once found sharing a kill with a couple of local bears.
The baby mountain lions were found hiding under an enormous boulder. Researchers said that the kittens were two males known as P-52 and P-5o and a female known as P-51.
The team confessed that even with the help of the latest technological improvement, it is still hard to accurately spot the den of a mountain lion female. But for the collar devices attached to the mothers, scientists wouldn’t have been able to find the kittens.
The Santa Susana Mountains are situated along the east side of Ventura County to Los Angeles County. The two females, P-39, and P-35, were spotted with the P-38 male for a couple of days a few months before the baby mountain lions were born.
Park Service researchers have collected samples from the kittens to establish whether the P-38 male is indeed their father or not. Based on the genetic testing, scientists will find out more about these mysterious big cats.
Wildlife biologists have marked 11 mountain lion kittens until now around this area. They underline that monitoring and finding their dens is a challenging process even with the help of the Global Positioning System, because mountain lions usually prefer hidden crevices and thick bushes to make sure that their cubs are protected against any threat.
According to Jeff Sikich, National Park Service biologist, the officials will have a hard time trying to prevent these kittens from dying when they grow up because they will scatter.
These kittens will have to deal with various threats such as the risk of poisoning due to anticoagulant rodenticide, road mortality, and other mountain lion specimens.
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