New male lions: Meet P-55 and P-56

P-56. Photos by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

The National Park Service study of mountain lions in the Santa Monicas tagged two new males this month, probably siblings who are living in the western part of the range. DNA testing is being conducted to determine, if possible, who their parents are. These are sub-adult males and so, as the park service's Zach Behrens notes, their prospects aren't great. "[They] will face the same threats as previous younger males in the mountains: a habitat fragmented by freeways and development (along with rat poison moving up the food chain) and the dominant male lions who already have staked a claim to the area," Behrens writes.

Behold P-56 in this park service video. A gorgeous and seemingly well-fed cat :)

P-55.

In February the Santa Monica Mountains puma study tagged a four-week-old kitten, P-54, a female who had been born to P-23.

P-54.

Last week, Veronique de Turenne posted at Here in Malibu a cellphone photo of a collared mountain lion strolling through a settled part of the range. Moments before, she wrote, "the LA County Sheriffs had been driving along Mulholland Highway, using a bullhorn to warn residents that the big cat was nearby."