Remote cameras recently captured more than 1,000 photos of an adult female mountain lion and her young daughter feasting on a deer carcass in the Santa Susana Mountains.
The images, which show sights not unusual to wildlife biologists with the National Park Service, did contain a surprise: cougar P-39 appeared to have at least one extra kitten with her.
“Pretty cool to see this family feast,” said Kate Kuykendall of the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area in a Facebook post sharing the photos on Monday.
She told KTLA the images act a “window” into the lives of local big cats, helping researchers learn about their movements, behaviors and habits.
In the photos, taken over multiple evenings, the mountain lions were shown enjoying a mule deer — their typical diet — in the eastern part of the Santa Susana Mountains, generally in the area north of Simi Valley. The Park Service, which monitors many of the area’s lions, does not provide exact tracking data for the animals.
Data from P-39’s GPS-tracking collar had led scientists to the deer kill. The biologist who set up the remote-triggered camera lugged some 80 pounds of gear into the mountains to capture the images, Kuykendall said.
P-39 is about 3 or 4 years old, while her previously identified daughter, P-40, is about 7 months old.
Some of the photos show at least two kittens feeding alongside the mom. Only P-39 has a tracking collar. P-40 was fitted with a blue ear tag but was too young for a GPS collar when she was captured.
Federal wildlife biologists had thought P-39 had only one kitten until the photos showed at least two babies.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the other kitten was never tagged or was previously unknown to scientists.
