Remember the horrible wildfires in California a few years ago, and how some injured wildlife was rescued from them?
Here is the story of three of those lucky animals: Captain Cal, the mountain lion cub, and friends.
No recount of mountain lion rescues would be complete without a trip down memory lane with Captain Cal. In late 2020, as the devastating Zogg fire roared through Northern California, a brave Cal Fire firefighter stationed in Redding rescued an orphaned and injured 4-week-old mountain lion cub suffering from severe burns. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who were already tirelessly working to save the lives of so many wildlife victims trapped by the recent blaze, were able to transport the cub to Oakland Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital for treatment.
Our veterinary team immediately jumped into action. This 3.75-pound cub had been badly burned, especially his paws. His whiskers had been singed off, and he had excessive irritation to his eyes. Fortunately, he did not have any harm to his lungs from smoke inhalation, and avoided bone damage to his severely burnt paws.
His road to recovery was an extensive one, including daily bandage changes, and round-the-clock care to treat his open wounds. Little by little, his health improved, as did the hopes of staff. In honor of Cal Fire’s efforts, it was only fitting to name this tough little cub after the Cal Fire mascot, Captain Cal!
A month and a half later, 2 sister cubs, estimated to be only 3-4 weeks old, also orphaned by the Zogg fire, were brought to Oakland Zoo for care. Despite their past troubles, the sisters arrived with sweet demeanors and gave Captain Cal lots of positive influence. Once Cal was fully ready, the three were successfully introduced.
This inseparable trio was moved to Columbus Zoo in Ohio in the beginning of December during the first snowfall of the season — quite a change from the tribulations they experienced a few months before. They were initially housed with an elderly, mostly blind, surrogate mother named Jessie, until her passing in June of 2021.
Years after Captain Cal’s remarkable recovery, he continued to face complications from the injuries he sustained in the Zogg fire. To help him heal and live more comfortably, the Columbus Zoo medical team had to make the difficult decision to remove three of his claws (2021) and partially amputate the tips of several more toes (2022) which had rotated into abnormal positions. This hasn’t affected his quality of life, and the three mountain lions continue to live happily together as an adopted family in Ohio.
— Source (read the whole thing to learn what happened with other rescued mountain lions).
Here is a four-video playlist of the young, recovering captain from Zooborns. The last video shows scenes from Captain Cal’s initial treatement. ❤
Some lagniappe:
Reality is better than fiction, but some fiction can be very, very cool:
From “A Dog’s Way Home“
Featured image: Captain Cal at Columbus Zoo, July 2023; Photo: Columbus Zoo, via article linked above.
Flight To Wonder 