The Oakland Zoo has taken in two more mountain lion cubs rescued from the Zogg Fire in Northern California.
The zoo introduced the two female cubs, who lost their mother in the fire, in a video posted Sunday on its social media accounts. They do not have names yet. They will join an abandoned male cub named Captain Cal, rescued from the same fire last week.
The video shows the cubs receiving medical treatment and being cleaned up after being brought to the zoo. The female cubs will meet Captain Cal once he recovers from some of his injuries.
The Oakland Zoo is working with the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis to treat Captain Cal’s burn wounds. He’s on pain medication, antibiotics and fluids, and vets are “cautiously optimistic” he’ll be OK. The cub is being fed milk through a syringe.
The fire singed Captain Cal’s whiskers off and his paws were badly burned.
In the wild, mountain lion cubs typically stay with their mothers for about two years until they can hunt and survive alone. Because these cubs are orphaned, they can’t be released back into the wild and will most likely be placed at an accredited zoo, Erin Harrison of the Oakland Zoo told CNN last week.
The Zogg Fire began on September 27 and has burned 56,338 acres in Shasta and Tehama counties in Northern California, according to Cal Fire. The fire is now 97% contained. Four people died in the fire, which destroyed 204 structures and damaged another 27, Cal Fire said.
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