Crimson the baby mountain lion had a rough start to life. He lost the toes on one of his hind feet and, at just 3 weeks old, was separated from his family and left alone in a den to starve.
But the Southern California cub experienced a positive turn of fate when state wildlife officials rescued him last week and transported him to the Los Angeles Zoo for emergency treatment.
The plucky little lion has since been transferred to the Oakland Zoo, where veterinarians are hopeful he will make a full recovery.
“Although his health appears good at this time, he is at a delicate stage, and the Zoo will monitor him closely as he grows,” the Oakland Zoo said in a statement Thursday.
Crimson is one of the youngest mountain lion cubs the zoo has ever cared for, and ensuring he reaches adulthood is no easy task.
He currently requires around-the-clock care, which includes bottle feedings every three hours by veterinary staff, who must provide the level of care that his mother would have while also giving him space to act as much like a wild mountain lion as possible. Staff will also pay close attention to his foot to ensure he uses the leg properly and it doesn’t cause any complications as he grows.
Specialists with the Department of Fish and Wildlife speculate that he may have lost his toes due to umbilical cord strangulation. This injury also may have caused his mother to abandon him.
“She may have done so because of the kitten’s abnormal hind limb, specifically the missing toes, which could have triggered an instinct in the mother to relocate her other potential kittens and conserve resources by establishing a new den site,” the Oakland Zoo said in a statement.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife came in contact with Crimson, whom they referred to as P-131, because the National Park Service had collared his mother as part of a long-term research project. Biologists observed a change in the mother’s movements, which signaled her cub may have been abandoned.
After she didn’t return to the den for several days and her cub’s condition started to dangerously deteriorate, the Department of Fish and Wildlife authorized the park service to intervene and rescue him.
“Decisions like this are based on real-time monitoring, the animal’s condition and whether intervention is likely to make a meaningful difference,” said Kyle Evans, Department of Fish and Wildlife environmental program manager in Southern California. “In this case, the data showed the kitten would not survive on its own, and intervention was appropriate.”
Because he did not have the opportunity to learn essential survival skills from his mother, Crimson is not suitable for re-release in the wild and will spend the rest of his life in the zoo.
Fortunately, he will be in good company.
Zookeepers intend to introduce him soon to a new sibling — Clover, a female mountain lion cub rescued from El Dorado County earlier in March. She also had been been separated from her mother and was severely emaciated and in critical condition when she was found on the side of a road.
“Mountain lion kittens tend to thrive with a companion, a strategy the Zoo has successfully used with other rescues,” the zoo said in a statement. “While Oakland Zoo and CDFW prefer these kittens to remain in the wild, the pairing of Clover with Crimson will help improve their overall wellbeing and secure a brighter future for both cubs.”
Clover has been recovering well at the zoo and is getting close to her ideal body weight for her age. She is currently too large to safely play with Crimson; however, zoo staff may soon start “fenceline howdies” between the two cubs so they can get used to each other before they share an enclosure.
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