A mountain lion that was severely hurt in a car crash earlier this year has been successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wilderness in a remote part of SoCal.
The San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center put out a media release stating that the male mountain lion, who is estimated to be about ten months old, was transferred to their facility on Jan. 15, four days after being struck by a vehicle and receiving emergency veterinary care at an Orange County animal hospital.
“He was suffering from a skull fracture, head and eye trauma and lameness in his left hind leg,” humane society officials said in the release. “During the initial weeks, the organization’s Project Wildlife team care focused on providing pain management, nutritional support and close observation.”
“As he stabilized, the young mountain lion was moved to an outdoor enclosure, where he continued healing with minimal human contact – a critical part of preparing him for life back in the wild,” officials elaborated.
After 153 days of care, the mountain lion was able to gain enough strength and reach a healthy weight of approximately 60 pounds while also demonstrating natural survival behaviors and staying far away from people.
“This is the moment we all work towards,” said Ramona Wildlife Center Operations Manager Autumn Welch. “Our job is to provide medical care while preserving the animal’s wild instincts, so they have the best possible chance at surviving on their own.”
The facility is also caring for two orphaned mountain lion cubs who arrived there in late March. The pair, who were found alone by the UC Davis California Carnivores Program and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, are being rehabilitated and will be released when they are ready.
San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center specializes in the rehabilitation of native apex predators, birds of prey and mountain lions, the latter only on a case-by-case basis.
The humane society’s Project Wildlife program cares for more than 10,000 wild animals each year.
