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New Hope for Pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains
The Los Angeles Times reports that the last breeding pair of pumas in the Santa Monica mountains (rather unromantically dubbed P1 and P2) have produced a litter of four of the rare feline predators, boosting hopes that the species can avoid extinction in the rapidly urbanizing range.These kittens, in a scenario with unsettling similarities to the experiences of UFO "abductees", were implanted with abdominal tracking devices by scientists while their mother was away snacking on deer and/or family pets. Researchers will use the tracking data to chart the tiny carnivore's movements as they wrestle, chase butterflies, and generally engage in kitten-type behavior.
LAist would like to extend our congratulations to the happy couple, notwithstanding the fact that P1 probably does not even realize he's a father. It warms our hearts that somewhere out there, in the rapidly vanishing wilds of LA, is a lioness and her cubs, prowling the range and continuing the unbroken line of mountain lion habitation amongst the crags of the Santa Monica mountains.
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