A mountain lion was struck and killed by a car on the Ortega Highway in Orange County, prompting wildlife experts to call for increased safety measures to keep Southern California animals safe.

Mountain lion F390, which UC Davis was tracking, was struck and killed on Highway 74 on Sept. 4 in San Juan Capistrano. They say that the three-year-old big cat was part of a California study on the species' protection, and that she recently gave birth to two kittens.

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Dr. Winston Vickers, a research veterinarian with the university, said that the cats are big enough that they're almost the same size as their mother.

"They are over a year old; they should be able to make it on their own," Vickers said.

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