Two More California Wildfire Cubs Rescued by Oakland Zoo

The Oakland Zoo is adopting two more babies: mountain lion cubs that a firefighter rescued from the California Wildfires.

The zoo announced its move and introduced its two new residents who lost their mother in the California wildfire. The two new baby residents do not have a name yet, but they will be joining Captain Cal, an abandoned mountain male cub that was rescued from the same fire last week.

Two Cubs Rescued From California Wildfire

The two female mountain lion cubs were found by firefighters near Redding this week while battling the Zogg Fire in Shasta County. Wildlife experts believe that the two cubs might be siblings. An official from the Oakland zoo picked the cubs from a US Fish and Wildlife facility on Friday.

The cubs are being cleaned up and getting medical intervention after being brought to the zoo. A video released by the zoo showed that the cubs were swaddled in blankets and examined on a table. The cubs will be fed through bottles and have to undergo an x-ray to detect signs of smoke inhalation. The cubs were kept in a carrier and would bare teeth when approached by humans.

Although the cubs were unharmed, it still requires careful handling from zoo veterinarians. According to Oakland Zoos's spokeswoman Isabella Linares, since the cubs are barely a month old and are deprived of a mother, they can no longer survive in the wild.

Mountain cubs usually stay with their mother until they are two years old, and are taught how to hunt and avoid predators, Linares said.

Captain Cal will meet these new female cubs once he recovers from his injuries.

Mountain Lion Cub Captain Cal Is Steadily Improving

A week ago, a firefighter in Shasta County rescued a mountain lion cub of about three to four weeks old.

In collaboration with UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, Oakland Zoo treated the cub, which was in bad shape then: his whiskers were singed off, paws were badly burned, and his eyes are severely irritated. But the good news was, the cub seemed to be "alert and feisty," which is a good sign, according to a wildlife biologist of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The vets said that they are "cautiously optimistic" that the cub will be okay.

Captain Cal's condition has improved, although his furs are still singed and mottled. His burned paws are wrapped in gauze and duct tape.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife will eventually house all the three orphaned lions in a new facility.

The male cub was named Captain Cal as the Cal Fire Mountain lion mascot. Captain Cal is meant to symbolize Californians' resilience who battled a more prolonged and more vicious fire this year and the devastation brought by the California wildfire and climate change.

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