Remote cam captures incredible images of mountain lion family feeding
posted Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 12:39 PM EST
A mother mountain lion and her two cubs have recently been captured feeding by remote camera in the Malibu Creek State Park. And unlike many of the remote wildlife images that you see, these are up close and dramatic looks at the trio feasting on a recently killed mule deer.
The adult female is known as P-13, and was first discovered in the Hidden Valley area of the Santa Monica Mountains some four years ago, and was last seen with her cubs when they were just three weeks old. Now the two cubs, known as P-30 and P-28, are about 10 months old, and described as "nice and fat" in these images.
According to the LA Times, a remote camera captured 350 images of the trio and their kill in February, in Malibu Creek State Park. The National Park Service's Jeff Sikich said they were curious about the camera shutter, and didn't mind the flash. The images are excellent quality, and far better than the usually soft or night-vision photos that often come from remote cameras.
Mountain lions do well in the Santa Monica Mountains, but while not endangered, do face problems of genetic isolation. Because they're surrounded by roads and human developments, it's extremely difficult for the animals to move from one area to another, leading to worries of stagnation in the genetic population, and animals potentially being killed if they try and leave.
(LATimes, LiveScience, PetaPixel)
