Sonoma County researchers track mountain lion kittens in Glen Ellen

Sonoma County researchers got an adorable update over the weekend when they were able to track the offspring of a female mountain lion they had GPS collared.

The mountain lion, named “P1” for the research project, gave birth to three kittens in April, but current evidence shows only two are living.

“As these youngsters traverse the landscape with their mother, their greatest risk in many wild populations who are not hunted by humans, is infanticide - being killed and even eaten by other males moving through the territory,” Quinton Martins of the Audubon Canyon Ranch Mountain Lion Project said. “Other risks include malnutrition and predation by other predators such as coyotes.”

Martins was able to set up a wildlife camera to capture the kittens Aug. 2 in Glen Ellen. There was no footage of the kittens up until this month, as no one had seen them since they were 10 days old.

The kittens are expected to stay with their mother, who raises them alone, for approximately one to two years while she teaches them to hunt for themselves.

Project researchers are hoping to see kittens belonging to “P4,” who gave birth in Napa County in May.

ACR researchers have GPS tracking on three females and one male adult mountain lion in Sonoma and Napa County as part of their research project that began in March 2016.