PHOTOS: Mountain Lion Gives Birth to Litter of Kittens in Los Angeles Wilderness

The National Park Service has released photos of three female kittens that a mountain lion gave birth to in the Simi Hills of California.

Biologists found the kittens in a dense patch of poison oak nestled among large boulders on May 18.

All three kittens appeared healthy, estimated to be 24 days old.

Their mother was first captured in the Simi Hills in November 2019, and biologists said she has established her adult home range in a smaller area between the 101 and 118 freeways. 

The father of the litter is unknown to biologists.

“It will be interesting to learn how these kittens will use the landscape once they get older and disperse, particularly if they decide to stay in the Simi Hills or cross freeways to enter larger natural areas,” said Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist of the NPS mountain lion study.

“It's encouraging to see reproduction in our small population of mountain lions, especially after all the mortalities we have documented in the last year.”

Biologists visit the den while the mother is away hunting for food, feeding or resting. A biologist tracks her movements via telemetry while others on the team approach the den.