A mountain lion being tracked by Audubon Canyon Ranch biologists has given birth to three kittens in the hills above Glen Ellen/Kenwood. The 10-day-old cats are the first offspring born to a subject of the ACR study of mountain lions in the area.
The mother, dubbed P1, was fitted with a tracking device about six months ago. She is about 10 years old, the scientists say.
When collared, she was traveling with two offspring, a male and a female, estimated to be about 11 months old at the time. By late December the juvenile lions had dispersed, but not before her daughter (P2) was also fitted with a GPS collar.
The kittens will be monitored from a distance by the team in coming weeks.
Earlier in the week, the ACR team captured and collared the study’s first adult male mountain lion. Named P5 — he is the fifth lion captured — and the 4th to be fitted with a GPS collar. He is expected to have a large home range, possibly up to or even more than 200 square miles.
P5 is estimated to be 8 years old. Despite being in good condition, he only weighed 110 lb. Males can get up to 160 lb on the upper end of the scale.
P5 may have three or even four females within his territorial range. The kittens documented this week could very well be his offspring. His capture and collaring was handled by Dr. Quinton Martins, ACR Mountain Lion Project lead researcher, two team members, veterinarian Dr. Jim Codington, and with the close cooperation of two landowners in the area.
ACR’s researchers used a humanely-designed cage trap to capture the animal. The trap was fitted with a radio trap transmitter and motion-activated cameras, allowing the team to be notified instantly once the mountain lion was inside minimizing stress and possible injury to the animal. Biological samples will be analyzed at UC Davis, and will provide vital genetic and health information about the local population of mountain lions.
A couple of days after being collared in Bennett Valley, pings from his radio collar indicated that P5 had moved 15 miles east into Napa. “We can’t wait to see where he goes from here and what his movements are,” said Dr. Martins.
The ACR Mountain Lion Project studies mountain lions within an area that encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles, primarily in the Mayacamas Mountains (areas east of Hwy 101 and west of Hwy 29) in Sonoma and Napa Counties, and pairs the research with extensive education and outreach programs.
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