In just over one month, three orphaned Mountain Lion cubs have been rescued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and all have found sanctuary at Oakland Zoo.

The most recent, and youngest, arrived the night of December 23 in severe critical condition, more so than the first two cubs.

This third cub, estimated to be approximately 6-8 weeks of age, arrived near death, unable to stand or walk from such severe dehydration and starvation. Zoo vets found her starvation was so advanced, her body was consuming its own muscle mass. After six days of continuous IV fluids containing essential electrolytes and minerals, and round-the-clock bottle-feedings by Zoo veterinary staff, she began walking and showing signs of life. Vet staff joyously reports she is now regularly eating solid foods, showing spunky personality, and even ‘playing’ with her enrichment.

ZooBorns featured the story of the first two rescued cubs in an article from mid-December: “Oakland Zoo Cares for Mountain Lion Orphans”.

As determined by the CDFW, these three cubs cannot be released back in to the wild once their rehabilitation is complete, they would have no chance of survival. Unfortunately, they need their mothers to be effectively taught to hunt and survive. In the wild, even when the mother is present, the survival rate of Mountain Lion cubs is slim. Mountain Lions are becoming critically endangered in the California, often struck by cars or shot when seen as a threat in encroaching urban areas and developments. Oakland Zoo partners with the conservation organizations like the Mountain Lion Foundation and the Bay Area Puma Project to try and help conserve the species in the wild.

“Mountain Lion cubs need up to two years with their mom in order to learn how to survive and thrive. Human survival training is not possible. The Bay Area Puma Project supports Oakland Zoo’s efforts to care for Pumas that cannot be released into the wild,” said Zara McDonald, Executive Director of the Bay Area Puma Project.

Oakland Zoo helped found BACAT (Bay Area Cougar Action Team) in 2013, an alliance with the Bay Area Puma Project and the Mountain Lion Foundation, to help support the CDFW save Mountain Lions caught in the human-wildlife conflict.

Photo Credits: Monica Fox (Images 1-3) / Oakland Zoo 

Yet unnamed, the newest kitten seems to be thriving in the past several days. Upon arrival, Zoo vet staff began treating her in the ICU with nine daily and overnight bottle-feedings of KMR (kitten milk replacer formula), grooming her with a soft cloth to mimic a mother’s tongue, and monitoring her progress constantly. She is now eating solid food. Her favorite stew is a combination of raw meat from Primal Pet Foods, chicken baby food, frozen mice that is warmed, and cod.

In cooperation with the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Feline Conservation Center, Oakland Zoo has taken in two orphaned Mountain Lion cubs. The cubs were found separately in Orange County, two weeks apart from each other. Due to their ages and geographic proximity to each other when rescued, Oakland Zoo veterinarians will conduct DNA testing to determine if they are, in fact, siblings.

An adult female Mountain Lion was struck and killed by a motorist in the area of the cubs’ rescues, leading to the conjecture that the cubs may have belonged to her and were separated as a result of her tragic death.

In response to a situation such as this, Oakland Zoo helped found BACAT (Bay Area Cougar Action Team) in 2013, in partnership with the Bay Area Puma Project and the Mountain Lion Foundation, to help save Mountain Lions caught in the human-wildlife conflict with the CDFW.

"The Mountain Lions of the Santa Anas are the most at-risk in the nation, equal to the Florida Panther in terms of the uncertainty around their survival. Orphaned kittens represent the death of a mother lions, and this isolated Orange County population cannot afford the loss. It will take protection of habitat and wildlife corridors, depredation prevention efforts, and enhancements of Southern California freeways to allow the Mountain Lions of the Santa Anas and Orange County to survive. The two orphaned kittens at the Oakland Zoo are evidence of that need," said Lynn Cullens, Executive Director of the Mountain Lion Foundation.

Photo Credits: Oakland Zoo

Both cubs are male and estimated to be 3-4 months old and weigh close to 30 lbs. They were found approximately 15 miles apart in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon and Rancho Santa Margarita.

The first was discovered in a resident’s backyard, and the second, approximately two weeks later, on the roadside. Residents reported the cub sightings and CDFW was contacted. The cubs were initially cared for by the Feline Conservation Center in Lake Forest before being brought to Oakland Zoo where they are currently being quarantined, given medical attention and cared for by the Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital.

The second male cub arrived at Oakland Zoo on Monday and is doing very well. Zookeepers describe him as ‘feisty’ compared to his counterpart, who is more shy and cautious. Mountain Lions are new to Oakland Zoo, and these two cubs and the events that led them to need a ‘forever home’ will serve as educational ambassadors at Oakland Zoo’s upcoming 56-acre California Trail expansion, opening in June 2018.

“It is an honor to provide a forever home for these young Mountain Lions, and honor their lives further by working to help conserve their wild counterparts. We have a lot of work to do to better protect and conserve pumas, from proper education to establishing wildlife crossings and proper enclosures for pets and livestock. Oakland Zoo will continue to work in our BACAT Alliance with CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Area Puma Project, Mountain Lion Foundation to inspire our community to both understand and take action for our precious local lion,” said Amy Gotliffe, Director of Conservation at Oakland Zoo.

Three adorable, orphaned female Cougar cubs now reside at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium, in Ohio.

The cubs were all born in Washington state. The state of Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife reached out to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for help in finding the Cougar cubs new homes following the loss of their mothers. There is no information to post as to how the cubs became orphans, but, according to the Toledo Zoo, their plight is the result of "human-wildlife conflict".

Toledo Zoo staff recently made the trip to Washington to bring the cubs back to their facility.

Zoo officials stated that the elder of the cubs, named Rainier, is 10-12 weeks old. She is eating solid foods, weighs about ten pounds, and is from southeast Washington. Rainier has also taken on the coloring of an adult Cougar and lost her ‘baby stripes’.

The younger cubs, named Columbia and Cascade, are approximately three weeks old. They are still being bottle-fed by staff, weigh about 3.5 pounds each, and are from northeast Washington. These younger cubs are from a litter of four. The other two cubs in that litter were sent to a New Jersey zoo.

Photo Credits: Corey Wyckoff / Toledo Zoo & Aquarium

Although the cubs are not yet on-exhibit, the public can view the younger cubs during veterinarian supervised bottle feedings at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day, near the indoor viewing of elephants in Tembo Trail.

The Minnesota Zoo is excited to welcome a new male Puma kitten, named Landslide, to their Medtronic Minnesota Trail exhibit.

“We are excited about giving our guests a chance to see this energetic young male Puma kitten on the Minnesota Trail,” says Tom Ness, curator for the Tropics and Medtronic Minnesota Trails. “We take our mission to save wildlife very seriously here at the Minnesota Zoo and we are so grateful we are able to provide him with a great home.”

The male Puma kitten was found orphaned after a landslide in NE Washington earlier this spring and was initially cared for by the Oregon Zoo. He made the journey to his new home at the Minnesota Zoo in early May, and Zoo veterinarians have been caring for the kitten behind the scenes to ensure he is healthy and stable. The young Puma was scheduled to finish his last round of kitten vaccines last week, and vet staff and zookeepers report he is thriving in his new home.

Photo Credits: Tyler Birschbach/Minnesota Zoo

This is the second successful Puma (kitten) public debut for the Minnesota Zoo this year. An older Puma, named Sequim, that was also orphaned and rescued as a young kitten outside the Port Angeles, Washington area, made his public debut along the Medtronic Minnesota Trail earlier this year. The Medtronic Minnesota Trail is also home to several other rescued animals such as: three Black Bears, five Gray Wolves, a Bald Eagle, a Porcupine and more.

The young Puma will be on-exhibit daily from 9 am until approximately 1 pm. He will rotate exhibit time with Sequim.

Puma is a genus in Felidae (Felis concolor). Probably due to their wide range across North and South America, Pumas have multiple names they are known by, including Cougar and Mountain Lion.

Pumas can run up to 43 mph, jump more than 20 feet from standing, and leap up to 16 feet straight up.

Although they can make a wide range of cat noises (hisses, growls, purrs), Pumas cannot roar. Instead, they are known for their distinctive “scream-like” calls during mating, but are often extremely stealthy and go unheard.

Although they have been pushed into smaller habitats by human settlement expansion, members of this genus have been formally classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. Their success in the wild, thus far, is due to their adaptation to changing habitat conditions.

A tiny, orphaned Cougar cub has briefly taken up residence behind the scenes at the Oregon Zoo’s veterinary medical center.

The cub, described as “loud and rambunctious” by zoo vet staff, was recently rescued by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers, after a landslide separated the young Cougar from its mother. After a short stopover in Portland, the cub will be headed to a new permanent home at the Minnesota Zoo.

“It was the victim of a landslide that occurred on Sunday [April 23] in Pend Oreille County,” said Rich Beausoleil, WDFW Bear and Cougar specialist. “A member of the public found it the day after in the mud and called WDFW.”

Photo Credits: Oregon Zoo

The cub, a five-week-old male weighing around four pounds, wouldn’t stand a chance alone in the wild, so Beausoleil contacted Oregon Zoo keeper, Michelle Schireman, who serves as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ species coordinator for Cougars.

“Without a mother, young Cougars can’t survive on their own in the wild, so I work to find them good homes,” Schireman said. “We would rather they grow up with their moms, but when that’s not an option we want them to have the best lives possible.”

The Minnesota Zoo recently welcomed two orphaned Puma kittens to Apple Valley, MN.

The brother-sister pair was found in late October just outside the Port Angeles, Washington area by a local resident and rescued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife before making the journey to Minnesota. Based on the kittens’ condition, officials were confident their steps at intervention were needed and that the mother was not returning to care for the pair.

“We are happy to provide these kittens with an excellent home to thrive here at the Minnesota Zoo,” says Tropics and Minnesota Trail Curator, Tom Ness. “These kittens are a great addition and we look forward to introducing them to our guests once they are healthy and strong enough for their habitat along the Minnesota Trail.”

Photo Credits: John Oakes/ Minnesota Zoo

The male kittens weighed in at 13 pounds when he arrived, while the female was 11 pounds. Both kittens have grown considerably since their arrival and are currently behind the scenes for a mandatory quarantine period, where they are receiving constant care from the Zoo’s veterinary team before making their public debut along the Medtronic Minnesota Trail sometime later this year. The Medtronic Minnesota Trail is also home to several other rescued animals such as: three black bears, five gray wolves, a bald eagle, a porcupine and more.

Puma is a genus in Felidae (Felis concolor). Probably due to their wide range across North and South America, Pumas have multiple names they are known by, including Cougar and Mountain Lion.

Pumas can run up to 43 mph, jump more than 20 feet from standing, and leap up to 16 feet straight up.

Although they can make a wide range of cat noises (hisses, growls, purrs), Pumas cannot roar. Instead, they are known for their distinctive “scream-like” calls during mating, but are often extremely stealthy and go unheard.

Although they have been pushed into smaller habitats by human settlement expansion, members of this genus have been formally classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. Their success in the wild, thus far, is due to their adaptation to changing habitat conditions.

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