THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Biologists studying Southern California bobcats found a mother and three kittens this spring in an unusual den in a cavity up in a tree in an area intensely burned by the huge 2018 Woolsey Fire west of Los Angeles.

The National Park Service says bobcat denning in a tree is unusual. Their dens are usually found in hollow areas of thick chaparral or coastal sage vegetation or in woodrat nests.

Scientists believe the bobcat mom used the tree cavity because very little vegetation has grown since the Woolsey Fire extensively charred natural areas of the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills.