Mountain lion mom and kitten seen for first time since North Bay fires

A mountain lion and her surviving kitten were spotted on a Sonoma wildlife camera for the first time since October's devastating wildfires in the North Bay.

The mother is known to researchers as P1, and the Audubon Canyon Ranch Mountain Lion Project has been tracking her for over year. Back in April, P1 had a litter of kittens and the precious little guys were caught on remote cameras when they were only 10 days old.

But the Nuns Fire, which burned more than 56,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties, destroyed all of ACR's mountain lion tracking equipment. The mama mountain lion and her kittens hadn't been spotted in months.

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This week, the project's lead researcher Quinton Martins was able to replace one of the damaged nature cameras thanks to a new donation. To ACR's delight, that brand-new camera captured P1's eight-month-old kitten snuggling up to its mother near Bennett Valley early Tuesday morning.

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P1's kittens were also caught on camera over the when they were 10 days old. Now, only one has appeared to have survived. P1's kittens were also caught on camera over the when they were 10 days old. Now, only one has appeared to have survived. Photo: Jim Codington Photo: Jim Codington Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Mountain lion mom and kitten seen for first time since North Bay fires 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

The other two kittens are thought to have died, but researchers don't think their deaths were fire-related. When the family was spotted back in July, there were only two surviving kittens. ACR saw P1 again on the night of Oct. 3 (several days before the fires broke out) and it appeared she was only accompanied by one kitten.

The survival rate for mountain lion kittens is about 50 percent, according to ACR.

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Researchers aren't sure if the surviving kitten is male or female, but they say the young mountain lion's "kitten spots" are still visible on its back. The kitten will likely hang around its mom for a few more months before going off on its own.

The research group is also trying to track down another mountain lion family in the North Bay, P4 and her two kittens. P4 was fitted for a collar back in February, and was caught on candid camera with her two babies in May, but her collar dropped off in August and researchers haven't been able to check up on the family since.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.