MOUNTAIN LION CUBS A CONCERN FOR OFFICIALS OFFSPRING MAY BE PREY FOR FATHER.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. - Wildlife officials worry about the future of four mountain lion mountain lion: see puma. cubs - among the last five known to inhabit the Santa Monica Mountains - left to fend for Verb 1. fend for - argue or speak in defense of; "She supported the motion to strike" defend, support argue, reason - present reasons and arguments themselves after their father recently killed their mother. Two of the year-old cubs are males and two are females, and officials say the father is likely to drive the males out of the area and mate with the females, raising concerns about inbreeding inbreeding, mating of closely related organisms. Inbreeding is chiefly used as a means of insuring the preservation of specific desired traits among the offspring of purebred animals (see breeding). . ``It's a really sad situation; we're hopeful that it will turn out well for the cubs,'' said Christa Mann, a Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, representative of the Mountain Lion Foundation. ``What will probably happen is that (the father) will probably breed with his female offspring Noun 1. female offspring - a child who is female female person, female - a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies child, kid - a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age; "they had three children"; "they were able to send their kids to ,'' Mann said. ``The females will be able to stay in the Santa Monica Mountains, but the father will see the male kittens as competition and won't share his territory with them. If they stay within the mountain range he will kill them.'' The adult male and his four cubs are the only known mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, but there might be more that authorities are not aware of, officials said. Mann said they know so much about the mountain lion cubs because all were implanted with tracking devices shortly after birth. Ray Savaujot, chief of planning, science and resource management for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: see National Parks and Monuments (table). , said the mother lion had killed a deer Aug. 12 apparently to feed herself and her cubs, which were in the area when she was approached by her mate. ``In part because carnivores are very defensive of their prey and in part because (the mother) was still with the four yearling yearling an animal in its second year of age, e.g. yearling cattle, yearling filly, yearling colt. yearling disease rinderpest in wildebeeste in the Serengheti. lions, she may have acted quite aggressively toward (the father's) advances,'' Savaujot said. Leaving the father to breed with his female offspring raises concerns, Savaujot said, but National Park Service officials have no plans to import more lions into the area to increase genetic diversity. ``Inbreeding is a concern with a small population. Over the first one or two generations that might not be a problem, but if it continued over a long term it could introduce genetic problems. It is crucial to have habitat linkages between the Santa Monica Mountains and other areas with mountain lions nearby.'' He agreed with Mann that the father would probably drive the male cubs out of the area. ``Based on mountain lion biology, the males do not tolerate other males within their home range. (The adult male's) home range includes most of the Santa Monica Mountains. There are little pockets on the far west around Point Mugu that could conceivably provide another home range.'' But the two males really have only one choice: cross the 101 Freeway into the Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California. Geography Simi Hills is located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. and potentially into the Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south from Santa Clara River Valley to the north and , he said. Male and female mountain lions that had been roaming back and forth between the Simi Hills and the Santa Susana Mountains were found dead in the Simi Hills last fall from anticoagulant anticoagulant (ăn'tēkōăg`yələnt), any of several substances that inhibit blood clot formation (see blood clotting). poisoning, possibly from eating other animals that had been poisoned. ``It's possible there are other mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains that we are not aware of,'' Savaujot said. ``It's possible there are another couple of females. It's even possible that there is another male.'' He said the cubs weigh about 60 to 80 pounds. Adult females can grow to between 65 and 90 pounds, and adult males can be between 130 and 150 pounds. ``Initially we were very concerned about whether (the cubs) were old enough. The good news is over the last few weeks they seem to be doing fine, moving through the mountains and hunting,'' he said. ``When they were really young and still dependent on their mother they were more vulnerable, but now they have a better chance of survival. We feel better about what the future holds. This kind of accelerated what would have happened inevitably.'' Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com |
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