Adorable Video of Newborn Bobcat Kittens
GPS data leads wildlife ecologist to bobcat kittens in Santa Monica Mountains.
— -- Wildlife ecologist Joanne Moriarty noticed familiar movements earlier this spring with Bobcat-339 in the Santa Monica Mountains of California.
Bobcats are nomadic in nature, roaming all over the mountains throughout the day and night. GPS data revealed that 339 repeatedly returned to one spot, a characteristic that indicates "denning,” which normally happens after a female gives birth.
Moriarty explored the situation and found a cute spotted surprise in a woodrat nest: bobcat kittens!
It was like finding a needle in a haystack, Moriarty said, but thanks to the data from 339's GPS, the scientists were able to mark an approximate location among multiple woodrat nests, a common hub for bobcat dens.
Once they heard what they suspected to be bobcat kitten noises deep inside one nest, they attached a GoPro to a selfie stick and probed inside, revealing two newborn bobcat kittens: B-340 and B-341.
The video was recently released on social media from the observations recorded earlier in April.
The team gathered samples and measurements of the newborn brothers, placed ear tags, returned them to the den and set up a camera trap to monitor for the mother's return.
Eventually, the feline family moved out of the den roaming about the mountains.
