A “majestic” creature defied the odds and made such an incredible recovery, he was able to return home “where he belongs” in the southern California wilderness, video shows.
The mountain lion cub was found on the side of a highway on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, after he was likely hit by a car the night before, San Diego Humane Society officials said in a July 8 news release. He was 5 months old at the time.
X-Rays showed the cub had a “severely fractured hind leg ,” McClatchy News previously reported.
Veterinarians treated him for dehydration and malnourishment before the team “carefully repaired the animal’s left tibia, using a metal plate and 10 screws to realign the bones” — a “complicated orthopedic surgery” that the vets had never attempted on a wild animal before, officials said.
“Without the surgery, he would have no chance of survival in the wild,” officials said in a video on Facebook.
Over three weeks, veterinarians monitored the cub with cameras in an indoor hospital enclosure designed to limit “human interaction and movement that could risk damage to the surgery site,” officials said. “Then veterinarians performed a second surgery to revise the placement of the screws.”
The cub continued recovering in an outdoor enclosure in mid-December, officials said. Video shows the cub getting settled into his new enclosure after the surgery.
Then when the veterinary care team checked the cub’s progress in January, the team found the fracture was healing well and the little cub was getting stronger, officials said.
“Mountain lions are apex predators, so it was crucial for this cub to be fully recovered and able to survive and hunt on his own,” officials said. “In the wild, mountain lion cubs may stay with their mothers up to 26 months, but usually separate after about 15 months.”
The cub stayed at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center for seven months and was about 1 year old when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined he could return to the wild.
“The cub has been growing healthy and strong for 217 days — and he’s not exactly a cub anymore,” the video says. “This majestic lion is finally ready to go home.”
Department officials released the yearling on June 26 near where he was found in Ventura County, about a 75-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles. Before releasing him, wildlife officials fitted him with a satellite GPS collar “for tracking to help ensure his future health and wellbeing,” officials said.
Video shows veterinarians measuring the young mountain lion’s body and teeth, fitting him with the collar and an ear tag, and readying him for release as the sedation wears off. After the cougar charges into the wilderness, someone whispers: “Good luck, buddy.”
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