"Kitten Caboodle: SoCal Mountain Lions Enjoying A Baby Boom"

"It’s a good summer for the big cats who already have to deal with development, traffic, poisons and wildfires."

"At long last, some purr-fect news: California mountain lions are in the middle of a baby boom.

These cool cats (check out the video above) are bedding down in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Valley in Southern California.

According to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 13 kittens were born to five mountain lion mothers between May and August. It’s the first time so many dens have been found in the area in such a short period of time since scientists began tracking the big cats 18 years ago.

“This level of reproduction is a great thing to see, especially since half of our mountains burned almost two years ago during the Woolsey Fire,” said wildlife biologist Jeff Sikich, who tracks the mountain lion population in the area. “It will be interesting to see how these kittens use the landscape in the coming years and navigate the many challenges, both natural and human-caused, they will face as they grow older and disperse.”"

Mary Papenfuss reports for HuffPost September 4, 2020.

Source: HuffPost, 09/04/2020