This ferocious feline isn't stalking the savannah, as you might expect: it's prowling Malibu Creek State Park, a stone's throw from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the Route 101 highway has isolated the local population of mountain lions from others of their kind, and they are inbreeding.
Some are even killing offspring, siblings and mates, behaviour that is rarely seen when mountain lions can move freely between populations.
However, this mother, photographed by a remote camera, seems to be remaining loyal to the two 10-month old kittens she was sharing a mule deer with.
The last known immigration of an outside mountain lion into this isolated population occurred in 2009. The adventurous male involved did manage to bolster the genetic diversity somewhat, giving hope that it wouldn't take too many more incomers to restore a healthy diversity.
Journal reference: Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.029
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