It took crawling through the most dense poison oak a biologist had ever seen, but a recent discovery of three mountain lion kittens has brought excitement to wildlife lovers still mourning the loss of LA’s beloved P-22.
“We always love kittens, they are a very hopeful part of our work and cute part of our work as well,” rejoices Beth Pratt, California director for the National Wildlife Federation. “Mountain lions are extremely secretive, and we're not tracking all of them. So when we can find a litter … that is really valuable data.”
The mother of this litter was captured in November 2019, and before being released, named P-77. The “P” stands for “puma,” and the number refers to the mountain lion’s order in the tracking system. Much like P-22, P-77 has criss-crossed the area and its dangerous freeway systems.
“[She’s] one of the cats just trying to make it here,” says Pratt. “She has crossed both the 101 and the 118 freeways … successfully, which is, as you know, rare. A lot of these cats don't and her luck could run out at some point.”
Just over the past year, 15 mountain lions have been found dead in the LA area, the majority after being hit by vehicles. If P-77 goes through a similar fate, or if she chooses to abandon her kittens, biologists may intervene.
“[Biologists] have pulled kittens out to go to a rescue site … where they at least try to keep them alive,” explains Pratt. But the kittens are “too young to put on a [tracking] collar. … [Biologists] don't always know there's a problem until it's too late.”
“We always love kittens, they are a very hopeful part of our work and cute part of our work as well. Mountain lions are extremely secretive, and we're not tracking all of them. So when we can find a litter … that is really valuable data,” says Beth Pratt, California director for the National Wildlife Federation. Photo courtesy of National Park Service.
To mitigate the high death rate of mountain lions trying to cross LA’s freeways, Pratt has been involved in the years-long effort to build a wildlife crossing in Agoura Hills across the 101 freeway. Pratt says the crossing, currently under construction, is set to open by the end of 2025. It’s one of many the state should be building, says Pratt.
“For me, this is about making this a safer world for wildlife. They're doing everything they can to exist, so we’ve got to help them more, and making it safer for them to cross the freeways is key to their future.”