Rose is believed to be about 4 or 5 months old and only weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces when she was found. An average cub of that age would be about 30 pounds, but doctors are “guardedly optimistic” about Rose’s recovery.
An orphaned mountain lion is being nursed back to health by the Oakland Zoo.
Hikers in San Mateo, California spotted the tiny cub and reported it to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Biologists there transported the sick cub to doctors at the zoo.
They say the tiny cub was “dehydrated, covered in fleas and ticks, and had a very low red blood cell count.”
Caregivers named her Rose and believe she’s about 4 or 5 months old. An average cub of that age would be about 30 pounds, whereas Rose only weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
Veterinarians estimate the little lion cub hadn’t eaten in weeks. But that’s changing now that Rose is in the care of the Oakland Zoo. She is being bottle fed formula and spoon fed, not quite understanding yet that the spoon isn’t part of the meal, but there’s plenty of time to learn.
Because of her anemia, Rose needed a blood transfusion, and thankfully Silverado, one of the Oakland Zoo’s resident mountain lions, was a match for her.
“Since she had that blood transfusion, she’s obviously a lot better,” Dr. Ryan Sadler of the Oakland Zoo Hospital said.
Doctors are “guardedly optimistic” about Rose’s recovery.
As an orphan, Rose is missing out on the vital first two years of learning survival skills from her mother. Because of that, she cannot be released into the wild. Zoo officials say they plan to find her a home in an accredited zoo or wildlife preserve.
