Rescued Mountain Lion Cubs at Oakland Zoo

Since 2017, Oakland Zoo has been caring for rescued mountain lions. A vast majority of these are orphaned cubs, often found malnourished and in poor health. These mountain lions are brought to Oakland Zoo by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). Oakland Zoo's veterinary team provides immediate care, ongoing treatment, and provides shelter in our Intensive Care Unit and our quarantine wing. Rescued animals stay anywhere from just a few hours to several months. Whenever possible, rehabilitated mountain lions are released back into the wild -- sadly, a majority of rescued cubs are so young, that without their mothers to teach them essential skills, they wouldn't survive in the wild. In those cases, CDFW chooses "forever homes" at reputable organizations or sanctuaries.

In February 2023, Oakland Zoo expanded our rescued mountain lion program with the addition of a "head start space" for rescued cubs, adjacent to our resident mountain lions at California Trail. When rescued cubs are healthy enough to leave the vet hospital, they can move to this new space, where they're able to interact with our resident adult mountain lions. These interactions build social skills, help cubs adjust to non-hospital settings, and provide an easier transition to their future homes, giving them experience with animal neighbors, human visitors, and other factors.

About our most recent Mountain Lion Cub Rescues: Thistle, Spruce, and Fern

On January 26, California Department of Fish and Wildlife brought 3 orphaned mountain lion cubs to Oakland Zoo’s vet hospital. The trio, estimated to be about 3 months old, were found in Portola Valley. CDFW believes the mother of these cubs is the same female mountain lion that was killed by a car in the same area. The three siblings (2 males and 1 female), are thin but relatively healthy.

Their care team at our veterinary hospital has given them the names Thistle, Spruce, and Fern (Fern is the female). In the wild, mountain lion cubs need about two years with their mother in the wild to learn survival skills. Because these cubs are so young, they lack those skills and sadly cannot return to the wild. Instead, we will work with CDFW to find these cubs a new forever home at an appropriate institution. While they are with us, we will take great care of these orphaned cubs, and, we will continue to take action to reduce human-wildlife conflict and make our shared living spaces safer for all animals. Oakland Zoo has now rescued and rehabilitated 30 mountain lions.

Thistle, Spruce, and Fern are still being cared for at our vet hospital.

Caring for these rescued mountain lion cubs takes enormous time and resources. To support Oakland Zoo’s efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need, please donate here.

About our recent Mountain Lion Cub Rescue: Briar

In August 2024, California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to a resident call about a possibly orphaned mountain lion cub in El Dorado County. CDFW located the little guy (estimated to be about 4 weeks old), conducted both ground and wildlife camera surveillance in hopes of finding a mother, but sadly no mountain lions were detected in the area for several days, and the decision was made to save the orphaned cub.

CDFW brought him to our veterinary hospital. Upon arrival, our vet team did an immediate exam and fortunately, the cub showed no signs of major health problems. His care team named him Briar, inspired by the spots on his fur resembling a blackberry bush.

In October, Briar moved to the mountain lion “head start” space at California Trail, where he has larger spaces and taller platforms to explore, as well as interacting through fencelines with our resident mountain lions Coloma and Silverado. Briar will stay here until California Department of Fish and Wildlife finds a permanent home for him.

Briar is the 27th rescued mountain lion we’ve helped care for at Oakland Zoo — to read more about how we are taking action to prevent cases like this, click here.

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