Scientists are celebrating a new mountain lion kitten that was recently spotted in the Santa Monica Mountains.
As loyal LAist readers surely remember, L.A. has a badly endangered mountain lion community in the Santa Monica Mountains, trapped in a maze of freeways. The population was until recently thought to be 15, with two cubs recently killed by predators.
However, researchers just spotted a cub they'd never seen before, bringing the number to 16.
"It’s a cause for celebration because there is one more to count in that struggling population," the National Wildlife Federation's Beth Pratt-Bergstrom told the Guardian.
The kitten's mom is thought to be the mountain lion nicknamed "P-23" by scientists. Once they can catch and put a tracking device on this six-month-old, it will probably be named P-46.
Here's a super cute video of the lil guy, courtesy of the National Park Service's Facebook page.
P-23's Surprise KittenRemember when we announced that P-43 and her unknown sibling died? Turns out there was yet another unknown sibling—and it survived! Make sure to turn up the volume to enjoy this at full squeee-ness and find out what we know so far here: go.nps.gov/p23kitten - Zach, Communications Fellow
Posted by Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Thursday, December 17, 2015
