Orphaned Mountain Lion Cubs Found Near Trabuco Canyon Adopted

TRABUCO CANYON, CA — Two orphaned mountain lion cubs found recently in Orange County were taken in by the Oakland Zoo. Testing will be done to determine if they are siblings, zoo officials said Tuesday.

The cubs were found separately two weeks apart from each other. Both are males about 3 to 4 months old that weigh nearly 30 pounds, according to the zoo. It was believed their mother was struck by a car.

A Patch reader wrote about his experience striking a mountain lion on October 24, was told the mountain lion was a female of approximately 2 years old by Animal control workers.

Gary Zager told of his experience, saying "As much as I do not want mountain lions in my neck of the woods I also do not want to be the one to dispatch them. As you can see from the photo she was a beautiful animal."

Due to the proximity of the collision in the Trabuco Canyon area, as well as the ages of the mountain lion cubs found, it is possible that this was the mother.

The cubs were found about 15 miles apart in a backyard in Orange County's Silverado Canyon area and on a roadside in the Rancho Santa Margarita area.

Orange County Animal Care officials wrote on Facebook on Nov. 13 that the first of the two was initially called in as a bobcat that could not get out of a backyard, but was later determined to be a mountain lion cub.

"Lt. Morgan and Lt. Evans responded to assist an OC Animal Care animal control officer with what Kaiser thought was a bobcat," OC Animal Care said over Facebook. "Together, they helped the cub transport to a licensed wild life rehabilitator for evaluation. There, the cub was deemed to be too young to be released back into the wild."

Because of their ages and proximity to each other, zoo officials plan on conducting DNA testing to determine if they are siblings. An adult female mountain lion was struck and killed by a motorist in the area of the cubs' rescue so veterinarians think the cubs may have belonged to her.

The second of the two cubs came to Oakland Zoo on Monday and zookeepers described him as the feistier of the pair.

They both will be part of the zoo's 56-acre California Trail expansion opening in June 2018.

"It is an honor to provide a forever home for these young mountain lions, and honor their lives further by working to help conserve their wild counterparts," Oakland Zoo director of conservation Amy Gotliffe said in a statement.

Bay City News, with Ashley Ludwig, Patch Editor

Image via Oakland Zoo