LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 (UPI) — Biologists at the National Park Service have begun tracking a three-legged bobcat and her one-eared kitten after the pair were discovered in California.
The kitten and its mother, known as B-336 and B-337 respectively, were spotted by camera traps in the Santa Monica mountains and appear to be thriving despite their deformities according to a NPS press-release.
“Bobcats catch live prey, so that means she’s managing to hunt with one front leg – and doing it well enough to feed herself and her kitten,” biologist Joanne Moriarty said of B-337.
Moriarty is unsure whether either animals’ deformities were caused by injuries or birth defects, but said that both lead relatively normal lives either way.
The kitten was captured by NPS a few days prior to its mother who caught the group’s attention after repeatedly showing up on cameras monitoring the area.
B-337 was fitted with a collar that will allow NPS to track her and blood samples were taken from both bobcats so Moriarty can study the strange pair.