Oakland Zoo cares for 4-week-old mountain lion cub orphaned in Sierra
The Oakland Zoo said Wednesday it has a new orphaned mountain lion cub, which came into its care Monday.
The 4-week-old cub was discovered in El Dorado County by a local resident. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife used ground and wildlife cameras to try to find its mother over a period of days, but no mountain lions were found in the area.
The cub's name is Briar. The zoo said it will take care of Briar until his "forever home" can be found.
Rescued 4-week old mountain lion cub at Oakland ZooKitten Alert! On Monday, California Department of Fish and Wildlife brought us this little mountain lion, a male cub who’s about 4 weeks old. He was found in El Dorado County by a resident. CDFW conducted both ground and wildlife camera surveillance in hopes of finding a mother, but sadly no mountain lions were detected in the area for several days and the decision was made to save this orphaned cub. Upon arrival our vet team did an immediate exam and fortunately, the cub shows no signs of major health problems. His care team has named him Briar, inspired by the spots on his fur resembling a blackberry bush. We will take care of little Briar until a forever home for him can be found. Briar is the 27th rescued mountain lion we’ve helped care for at Oakland Zoo — to read more about how we are taking action to prevent cases like this, visit: www.oaklandzoo.org/wildlife-conservation/mountain-lions
Posted by Oakland Zoo on Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Oakland Zoo has a long history of rehabilitating mountain lion cubs. The zoo said last month it has successfully rescued and rehabilitated 26 mountain lion cubs as part of the zoo's rescue and recovery program for local wildlife in need.
In July, siblings Maple and Willow were moved from the zoo to their new permanent home at Zoo New England in Massachusetts. CDFW brought the pair to the zoo in November after their mother was struck and killed by a vehicle Nov. 9 on Interstate Highway 280 near the Hillsborough/Burlingame area.
To see more about the Oakland Zoo's program to rehabilitate mountain lions and the challenges they face, go to https://www.oaklandzoo.org/wildlife-conservation/mountain-lions#taking-action.