7-day-old mountain lion kittens spotted near Kenwood

7-day-old mountain lion kittens spotted near Kenwood

On February 22, 2020, Living with Lions program director Dr. Quinton Martins tracked down the first litter of kittens born to mountain lion P16 near Kenwood, Sonoma County on Valentine’s Day. P16, named Luna by the landowners where she was captured, is a 2.5–3-yr-old female that was collared for the GPS tracking study in March 2019.

The team set up trail cameras to capture the interactions of Mama Luna and her kittens over the next several weeks. Filmed at just 7 days old, these kittens have very few defenses. Their eyes are closed, ears still pinned down but their hissing, clicking and growling noises are developing! But watch as they become more mobile over the course of just 14 days. They’ll be a handful for mom for the next 12-14 months!

At no time were these kittens handled by humans.

We look forward to watching new mom P16 take care of these two hungry lions! May they grow strong on a diet of deer and stay clear of conflict with humans and their pets.

Postscript: In mid April, these kittens were caught in a territorial competition between P5, the 10-year-old collared male we’ve been tracking since 2017 and another uncollared male who had dominated the eastern half of P5’s territory in recent years. Discover what we learned when P5 crossed the highway onto Bouverie Preserve and encountered P16 and her kittens >

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