Uno Tribute

Uno is a great example of how tough life can be for a mountain lion here in Southern California. I first got her on camera in November 2020 when she appeared to be approximately 1.5 years old, I named her Uno due to her eye injury which caused her right eye to not reflect back to infrared cameras. Biologists who later collared her state that she can likely see out of her bad eye but not great. Because of her injured eye, she was easy to identify and therefore we could monitor her travels easily. She crossed roads very often which is pretty common reality for mountain lions living in Southern California where human development just doesn't stop expanding into the wilderness. She had her first litter of 4 kittens in 2022 but none of them survived. Two of them were hit by vehicles, one showed up in someone's backyard sick, and the last kitten made it to about 7 months old before disappearing but the cause is unknown. In Spring of 2023, she appeared pregnant again after spending time with multiple male mountain lions 2 months prior and she disappeared for a while which indicated that she likely had a den and either gave birth or miscarried, but she never revealed any kittens. In December 2023, she was pregnant again after being seen courting with 3 different males (Toro, Newport, and Bruno). Unfortunately she would never give birth as she was struck by a vehicle while she was crossing Santiago Canyon Rd and she died due to internal injuries. A team had arrived on scene from UC Davis and Serrano Animal Hospital to attempt saving her but her injuries were just too much. Uno, also known as F312 to biologists with UC Davis was part of a study which monitored their movements and population.

[@jasonbear1336]

Uno will be missed! Nice tribute Mark!

[@darleneswanson4160]

Nice last video of her! 😊😢

[@mark_girardeau]

thank you

[@panatypical]

It's too easy to have something happen out of nowhere when you're driving at night, especially when you're in an area that doesn't have much in the way of street lights. Living in Orange County and seeing how densely it's becoming populated, I don't know how matters are going to improve.

[@mark_girardeau]

Yup, it's tough for them

[@ryanenglish8047]

Awesome video. There's gotta be way to study or track these lions without a huge ass collar on all of them.

[@mark_girardeau]

Thanks, so sad for her. This is actually the newest technology, if you develop something else, please let them know!

[@Whereyoubelongg]

Orange County mountain lions seem to be so small compared to the rest of cali lions

[@fufdaloc5997]

where in Orange County is this?

[@mark_girardeau]

Santa Ana Mountains