One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Biologists track 3-legged bobcat and her 1-eared kitten in Santa Monica Mountains
B-336, the one-eared kitten of B-337, which has been surviving in the Santa Monica Mountains despite having only three legs.
(
National Park Service
)
B-337 caught on camera in January 2015.
(
National Park Service
)
Biologists are tracking another wildcat in the Santa Monica Mountains — this time it's a three-legged bobcat with a kitten to feed.
Biologists aren't sure why the bobcat, dubbed B-337, is missing a leg, whether by genetic defect or injury, but her kitten, B-336, also happens to be missing an ear, according to a blog post from the National Park Service.
B-337 kept showing up on camera traps before finally getting caught in a cage trap and collared, NPS communications fellow Zach Behrens writes.
(Video: B-337, or Bobcat 337, is released after being captured by National Park Service researchers on the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. | Credit: National Park Service)
Bobcats and other wildlife face a number of threats in the area, from other animals to roads and even rat poison. Such threats have limited the genetic diversity of bobcats and mountain lions, which have often had to resort to inbreeding.
But both bobcats appear to be doing fine despite their handicaps, according to biologist Joanne Moriarty.
Sponsored message
"Bobcats catch live prey, so that means she's managing to hunt with one front leg--and doing it well enough to feed herself and her kitten," Moriarty says in the post.
Moriarty said preliminary data suggest B-337's range may be smaller than the roughly one square mile averaged by other female bobcats.
She said they're now analyzing blood samples to learn more about the cats.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
