Mountain lions caught on camera in wildlife refuge

A California Department of Fish and Wildlife survey of the Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area near Colusa has turned up dramatic photos of mountain lions.

Wildlife surveillance cameras captured shots of five to six mountain lions, including a female with three cubs and a male missing a foot, reports the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which manages the area, in a Facebook post. The cameras photographed a mountain lion every 10 days.

Also known as cougars, pumas and panthers, mountain lions are the largest wildcats in North America. There are an estimated 30,000 mountain lions in the western United States.

The Butte Sink Wilidife Management Area, part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is not open to the public but offers a virtual tour. It consists primarily of conservation easements on 10,000-plus acres of privately owned property, but also includes 733 acres of wetlands and riparian habitats near Colusa in Colusa County north of Sacramento.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Mountain lions caught on camera in wildlife refuge."