This male mountain lion cub was found dehydrated and malnourished by a resident of Spokane, Washington. At the time, he was just three weeks old. Washington state fish and wildlife authorities conducted a fruitless search for the cub's parents. When no trace of his mother could be found, the cub was taken to Mount Spokane Veterinary Hospital, whose staff looked for accredited facilities to house the cub after he regained his health. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers said,
"You just don’t rehabilitate an apex predator that’s become fixed on people, and release it back into the wild. The odds that it would eventually have contact with people or pets are too high.”
Zoo America has become the cub's new home and will help give him the nutrients and attention necessary to grow up healthy and adjusted. The as-yet-unnamed cub is said to be thriving.
Read more and see additional pictures here.
Images Credit: Zoo America
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The Zoo America website has an entry about mountain lions, so maybe they have some already there to provide companionship for this little guy. I understand why he'll have to be a zoo animal, but it would be tragic if he were all by himself there.
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Motherless? Did the cute little ball of fur-and-fangs just quantum-tunnel into existence?
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It means some ignorant redneck shot the poor thing's mother, probably. He's so cute, I'm grateful there was a wildlife group there to save him from a slow, horrible death.
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