This mountain lion kitten was born in the Santa Monica Mountains of California within the last month, though it's parents might be genetically related/NPS

While roadkills have impacted the number of mountain lions in and around Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California, those are offset at times by the arrival of kittens. This week the park staff has announced a new litter of at least one kitten, though there's concern the parents are related.

National Park Service researchers, along with biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, recently marked a four-week-old mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains. The kitten’s mother is P-23 and the suspected father is P-23’s half sibling P-30. Researchers documented the two animals traveling together for three days and then, approximately 90 days later, saw a series of localized GPS locations, indicating that P-23 had recently given birth. If genetic testing confirms that P-30 is the father, it would the first documentation of him fathering kittens.

“The good news is that local mountain lions continue to reproduce successfully,” said Jeff Sikich, biologist for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “Unfortunately, these animals are stuck on an island of habitat, with very little movement in and out of the Santa Monica Mountains, which has led to multiple cases of inbreeding.”

Southern California’s extensive freeway network has been shown to be a major barrier for wildlife and has particularly hemmed in the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains. A proposed wildlife crossing on U.S. Highway 101 in Agoura Hills would provide a connection between the genetically isolated population in the Santa Monica Mountains and the robust populations to the north.

This is the third litter of kittens for P-23, but in two previous cases her offspring were preyed upon by other animals. One kitten survived and was documented chirping for her mom in this video. Researchers outfitted that kitten, now known as P-53, with a GPS collar in July 2016.

P-23 gained fame in 2013 when she was seen feasting upon a deer near a cyclist on Mulholland Highway.

This is the 12th litter of kittens marked by National Park Service biologists at a den site. Two additional litters of kittens were discovered when the kittens were already at least six months old.

The National Park Service has been studying mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains since 2002 to determine how they survive in an increasingly fragmented and urbanized environment.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is responsible for overseeing the management and conservation of mountain lions in the state.