CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Bobcat Known as “Cinnamon” Dies in Corona del Mar, Expert Says

A car struck and killed a bobcat known as Cinnamon as she tried to cross East Coast Highway at Cameo Highlands Drive, a local wildlife expert said this weekend.

The bobcat was discovered a week or so ago, said Dick Newell of the wildlife group Orange County Trackers.

“Apparently she had unsuccessfully tried to cross the highway when she was struck by an automobile during the early morning hours,” Newell said. “It is not easy for a wild animal to exist in such close proximity to humans and their high-speed automobiles.”

Cinnamon — named because of the color of her coat — apparently gave birth to three kittens earlier this year, but the kittens have not been seen since their mother’s death.

“Hopefully they were old enough to survive on their own,” Newell said. The animals are likely hiding in nearby hills or in Crystal Cove State Park or El Moro, he added.

Newell said cars kill more bobcats than any other cause of death, probably more than 25 percent of all deaths.

“A few bobcats seem to learn to avoid the cars, but most don’t live long enough to do so,” he said. “This is the second death of a young female bobcat in this area, and both were believed to have given birth to three kittens in the months prior. Young kittens that fail to learn to be successful hunters during the first year of their lives that they spend with their mothers will most likely ultimately starve to death.”

Cinnamon had never been captured and was not a research animal, he said. She may have been a distant relative of Babe, another bobcat who lives in Newport Beach made headlines in June when she gave birth to three kittens.

“While there is a possibility this bobcat was a distant relative of Babe, they certainly were not ‘friends,’” Newell said. “Female bobcats are very solitary and even the male (father) plays no role in raising the offspring.”

Female bobcats have a home territory that is a couple of square miles, Newell said, and the males would have a territory that overlapped that of three or four females.

“Babe is alive and doing well in the upper Newport Back Bay along with her three kittens from this year’s litter,” he said. “Lance, the dominate male …is frequently seen in the Cameo Shores area at all hours of the day and night and he seems to be doing well.”

Read our stories about Lance and his Corona Highlands appearances here and here.