An orphaned mountain lion cub who arrived at the San Diego Humane Society's Project Wildlife Ramona campus is in better condition after weeks of intensive care by the medical staff.
The cub was spotted by firefighters from the Vista Grande Fire Station near a road in Idyllwild on September 2. The cub was then transferred to the shelter. The cub was semiconscious, extremely emaciated, dehydrated, weak and had tremors, the shelter said.
The cub is a female, estimated to be 14 weeks old and weighs 10.5 pounds. She received daily fluid therapy and medications. Within a couple of weeks, she progressed from five to three small meals per day, the shelter said.
“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 & Wildlife Rehabilitation at San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Campus.
Mountain lions typically stay with their mother until they are ready to live on their own at around 12-18 months. Because it is not safe to return a young mountain lion to the wild if found injured or orphaned as a kitten, Project Wildlife will be working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to monitor her progress and when stabilized will be transferred to a good permanent home at a qualified facility.
This mountain lion cub is the first wildlife patient admitted at the Ramona Campus since San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife took over.
