The National Park Service spotted two baby mountain lions in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains, west of Los Angeles, in December 2015.
The kittens have been named P-46 and P-47, and like all other mountain lions in the area, the government agency has implanted tracking devices in them so that they can be easily monitored, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Even the kittens' mother, P-19, has been under the National Park Service's tracking for almost five years. However, the agency has not yet identified the father of the kittens. P-19's previous litters were babies she had with her father - P-12, yet the organization's tracking records show that P-12 has not been anywhere near P-19 since March of last year, making it impossible for the two to mate.
Identifying the father is important because it can help biologist determine the conditions of the kittens, especially since inbreeding of mountain lions has been proven to be unhealthy, the Daily Mail reported.
Mountain lions however, tend to resort to incest because of geographical reasons that limit the chances of finding new mates.
DNA test is being processed in order to track who the father is, with scientists considering a relatively new male mountain lion in the area, P-45, as the possible daddy lion. They are hoping that the father is not directly related to the mother to increase gene diversity of the two kittens.
The discovery of the recently born kittens also means that the quality of habitat in the area is high, despite it being an urban area, according to ABC News.
National Park Service has posted a video of the two kittens, shown below:
