2 Adorable Mountain Lion Kittens Find New Home In Orange County

LAKE FOREST, CA — Two mountain lions kittens now call Orange County home, after they were found without their mother outside of an office complex in Thousand Oaks, Orange County Parks announced Tuesday.

Following further assessment and treatment, mountain lion kittens P-101 and P-103 are expected to make their debut at the Orange County Zoo in Orange sometime next year, an OC Zoo representative said.

“OC Parks and I are thrilled to welcome these newest residents of our zoo,” OC Supervisor Don Wagner said in a news release. “They’re a great present to the people of Orange County this holiday season. Once they’re a bit more comfortable in their new home, and our large mammal enclosure is ready for them early next year, we’ll introduce Orange County’s newest stars to what I am sure will be their adoring public.”

A total of four kittens were discovered outside of a Thousand Oaks office building Dec. 1 by National Park Service representatives, after the service received a call from an office building employee reporting seeing four small mountain lion kittens under a picnic table near their building. Biologists estimated that the kittens were roughly six weeks old.

The kittens were all found between three and a half and four and a half pounds huddled together in a "makeshift 'den'" near the office building, the National Park Service said. The kittens also appeared to be alone and thin, but in stable condition.

National Park Service representatives monitored the scene for a few days, they said, in case the mother of the litter returned to her cubs. Unfortunately, the kittens' mother is not being tracked by the National Park Service and never arrived for her kittens, a news release reported. According to the NPS, their mother was likely killed or abandoned the kittens.

The kittens were then transported to the Orange County Zoo, where they were assessed and received prompt medical care. Due to the young age of the kittens, the OC Zoo said that they will not be released back into the wild.

READ MORE: 4 Mountain Lion Kittens Found At Thousand Oaks Office Building