Rescued mountain lion seeking name
Back in late September 2020, a mountain lion cub was found motionless on the side of the road in the Idyllwild area near the Riverside County Fire Department.
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife suggested they contact the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) because they have a wildlife center in Romona with vet techs and trained staff, but they are not licensed to care for mountain lions,” said Jim Mitchell, marketing coordinator of Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (SWCC) located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER
The SDHS agreed to take the cub temporarily while more permanent plans could be put in place.
After caring for the mountain lion as best they could, and when he was healthy enough to travel (in late October), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the SWCC coordinated their volunteers to meet to hand the cub over to the SWCC for the proper care.
The cub is estimated to have been born in June 2020 and has been in good company with fellow mountain lions.
“We are one of the few wildlife conservation centers in the western United States licensed to keep and maintain mountain lions,” Mitchell said. “Right now, we have seven of them.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SOUTHWEST WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER
When he was found, he weighed less than 11 pounds. He should have been over 20 pounds at that age. Now, after about four months of being at SWCC, he is weighing in at 75 pounds, the average weight for a cub of his age.
“He’s really doing great,” Mitchell said. “To his benefit, we got two other California mountain lions just before we got him. They’re about two weeks younger than he is and the three of them now live together.
“A mountain lion that has contact with humans is seldom ever returned to the wild because if they’ve been around humans, they realize they are sources of food and will return looking for food,” Mitchell explained.
The animals that are permanently housed in the sanctuary get names. The animals that are rehabilitated and released are numbered.
Since 1994, the nonprofit organization has been rescuing wild animals with the intent of rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild. However, there are some species that are not able to be released, one of those being the mountain lion.
The SWCC decided to do an online naming contest for the cub because he will live out his life at the SWCC.
“Our animal care staff came up with five names that they thought would be appropriate for him and people get to vote,” Mitchell explained. “We charge $5 a vote and we get people from all over the world who come to our website and vote.”
The five names are Keva, Echo, Zion, Tonto and Zuma. The contest started on Feb. 2 and will end Feb. 19. The money raised during the contest goes toward the care and well-being of the mountain lion.
If you’d like to help name the cub, visit https://www.southwestwildlife.org/donate/name-the-lion-contest.html.
