Oakland Zoo cares for 4-week-old mountain lion cub orphaned in Sierra

The Oakland Zoo said Wednesday it has a new orphaned mountain lion cub, which came into its care Monday.

The 4-week-old cub was discovered in El Dorado County by a local resident. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife used ground and wildlife cameras to try to find its mother over a period of days, but no mountain lions were found in the area.

The cub's name is Briar. The zoo said it will take care of Briar until his "forever home" can be found.

Oakland Zoo has a long history of rehabilitating mountain lion cubs. The zoo said last month it has successfully rescued and rehabilitated 26 mountain lion cubs as part of the zoo's rescue and recovery program for local wildlife in need.

In July, siblings Maple and Willow were moved from the zoo to their new permanent home at Zoo New England in Massachusetts. CDFW brought the pair to the zoo in November after their mother was struck and killed by a vehicle Nov. 9 on Interstate Highway 280 near the Hillsborough/Burlingame area.

To see more about the Oakland Zoo's program to rehabilitate mountain lions and the challenges they face, go to https://www.oaklandzoo.org/wildlife-conservation/mountain-lions#taking-action .