Mountain lion cubs ready to move on from Oakland Zoo
Almost two months after he was found limping down a road in Redding, his paws badly burned by the Zogg wildfire that left him an orphan, Captain Cal and his two adopted sisters are ready for a new chapter, this one in Ohio.
Cal, named for the Cal Fire firefighters who rescued him, has recovered from his injuries 47 days after arriving at Oakland Zoo.
He has undergone surgery and received antibiotics, supportive fluids, pain medication, hand feedings, daily bandage changes and round-the-clock care.
Zoo officials say he will travel to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio in the coming weeks.
Joining Cal on the journey will be two female cubs that escaped injury in a different wildfire, but were left orphaned, as well. Because of the young age of all three cubs — they’re just weeks old — they can’t safely be released back into the wild. Cubs typically stay with their moms for the first two years of their lives, learning valuable survival skills.
Before arriving at their final destination, the cubs, accompanied by Oakland Zoo zoological manager Angela Gibson and Columbus Zoo vice president of animal health Dr. Randy Junge, will have a stopover in Indianapolis, where they will be met by the Columbus Zoo’s animal care team that will escort the cubs during the last leg of their journey and help them get settled in.
After a mandatory quarantine period, the cubs will eventually be introduced to 17-year- old Jessie, a female mountain lion described as having a sweet nature toward other mountain lions.
Jessie has surpassed the life expectancy of 16 years for mountain lions in human care, and although she is blind, she is in good health and will have her paws full with the new cubs.
Jessie was very close to her brother, Billy. The pair were rescued together as part of a wildlife confiscation in 2004. Billy died earlier this year, and the zoo staff hope the cubs will be good companions for Jessie.
Mountain lions are typically solitary animals, but recent research has shown them to be more social than previously thought. The cubs, missing their moms, should benefit with interaction with Jessie and others of their own kind.
“Even with the cubs’ tragic beginning, their story is actually one of survival and hope,” Columbus Zoo and Aquarium president and CEO Tom Stalf said. “We are proud to work with our friends at Oakland Zoo, whose expertise has given these cubs another chance. We remain committed to the cubs’ care, and we will continue to share their important story with others as we work together to protect the future of wildlife and wild places.”
The two female cubs, rescued by firefighters working the August Complex fire, were judged to be about 3 weeks old; Cal is believed to have been 4 to 6 weeks old when he was found.
Cal weighed just under 4 pounds when he arrived at Oakland Zoo. His most serious injuries were severe burns on the pads of his paws, which left him unable to walk. Dr. Alex Herman, director of Oakland Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital, along with her staff and an expert wound specialist from UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, performed extensive surgery to remove the pads so they could regrow and heal.
Cal now weighs a healthy 15 pounds.
Zoo officials had to wait until Cal was in better health before introducing him to the girls, who will be named by the Columbus Zoo and their patrons. The first introduction was made on Oct. 28 and the trio immediately bonded. They have been playing, sleeping and cuddling together ever since.
Because of widespread media coverage about Captain Cal and his sisters, many accredited zoos and other facilities reached out to Oakland Zoo to offer a home for the three cubs. The Columbus Zoo was ultimately selected because of its record of excellence in animal care and welfare, and its experience in working with rescued North American animals, including black bears, brown bears, moose and mountain lions.
As the effects of climate change make fire threats an increasing problem, the zoo is collaborating with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine on the newly formed “Wildfire Relief Network” for burned wildlife, created in October.
Since 2017, Oakland Zoo has taken 15 mountain lion orphans into care. In addition to wildfires, mountain lions face numerous threats in California, including illegal poaching and vehicle collisions.