Rescued cat ready for visitors

Baby bobcat one of the newest inhabitants at Wildlife West Nature Park

Come meet Bob the bobcat at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood. He arrived recently from the Desert Willow Rehabilitation Center in Carlsbad.

Bob was found before his eyes were open in southern New Mexico and was bottle fed for weeks by the staff at Desert Willow. They first tried to see if Bob could be returned to the wild by putting him in with another wild bobcat. The staff realized he had become too socialized so they contacted Wildlife West.

“The all-volunteer staff at the park love him and want to spend all day with him,” said Roger Alink, Wildlife West’s founder and executive director. “Now is the perfect time to see the 5-month-old cat because he still has his baby colors. His coat is spotted with yellowish-brown, buff and reddish-brown colors. He’s really pretty.”

Fall is a great time to visit Wildlife West with the cooler temperatures, Alink said, and the animals are more active. He said the four new baby grey foxes are also fun to see, along with the cougars, 500-pound black bear and the other animals all native to New Mexico.

The wildlife habitats have all been built by youth working through the New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps program over the past 25 years.

Wildlife West Nature Park is open daily, year round from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the time changes on Sunday, Nov. 5, then the hours will be noon to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit wildlifewest.org.