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According to the San Diego Humane Society, a mountain lion cub has returned to the wild, attacked by a vehicle and suffered horribly injured, including a broken skull.
Nearly five months of careful rehabilitation was required to restore the young male lion to health.
“Our job is to provide medical care while preserving the wild instincts of animals, so they have the best chance of survival for themselves,” said Autumn Welch, Wildlife Operations Manager at the Ramona Wildlife Center at the San Diego Humane Society.
(San Diego Humane Society)
It was a tall order after the turnip, now about 10 months old, was found in a crippling hind leg in January with a broken skull, eye injuries and a lame hind leg after hitting a vehicle.
The turnip was initially treated at Serrano Animal and Avian Hospital in Orange County before being transferred to the Humane Society for his long-term rehabilitation.
During his first weeks at the centre, staff focused on managing the pain and feeding him. As soon as possible, they moved him to an outdoor enclosure so that he could continue to recover with “minimum human contact,” staff said.
About 150 days later, his caretaker determined that he had gained enough weight and strength to return to the wild. He also demonstrated natural survival behavior and, importantly, avoiding people.
“This is the moment we’re all working on,” Welch said.
So, on June 17, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released him to a remote location in the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County.
(San Diego Humane Society)
The Humane Society is looking after two orphans Mountain Lion Cubs, who arrived at the Ramona Wildlife Centre in late March. A team from UC Davis researchers and a team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife team locked up the Cubs after they were found alone.
The goal is to bring them healthy and adequately protecting humans, bring them back safely into the wild.
“We are grateful for the partnership between CDFW and UC Davis and the opportunity to give these incredible animals a second chance at wild life,” Welch said.
The San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife Program hopes to rehabilitate and return more than 10,000 wildlife (including orphan songbirds and apex predators) to their natural habitat each year.
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