An orphaned mountain lion cub found in critical condition last month is being nursed back to health at a wildlife center in Ramona, San Diego County.
Firefighters from the Vista Grande Fire Station in Riverside County spotted the female cub on Sept. 2 near Idyllwild, according to the San Diego Humane Society. She was semiconscious, emaciated, dehydrated and was having tremors.
The weak cub, believed to be 14 weeks old, weighed just over 10 pounds.
The humane society’s Project Wildlife took the cub in at its Ramona campus and began giving her daily fluid therapy, medications and small meals. She has since doubled in size, now weighing 22 pounds.
Mountain lions usually stay with their mother until they reach between 12 and 18 months old, when they go off on their own. Because it is not safe to return a mountain lion to the wild if found orphaned as a kitten, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working with Project Wildlife to monitor the cub’s progress and make sure she has a permanent home at a qualified facility once she is in stable health.
“With each passing day, she becomes more active and responsive and, though she still has some medical issues to overcome from being in such a fragile state, we are delighted she has responded well to our treatment and are hopeful she will make a full recovery,” said Christine Barton, director of operations and wildlife rehabilitation at the Ramona campus. “Mountain lions are special predators and we are proud to have an expert team trusted by the state of California to care for the species.”
The cub is the first animal to be treated at the campus since the humane society acquired the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona from the Humane Society of the United States.
Project Wildlife is one of two licensed rehabilitation organizations that are routinely called on to assist with mountain lions and other apex predators.