WILDLIFE -- It's not a perfect ending, but at least it's a happy one to the unsettling story -- Orphaned cougar kittens have sobering tale -- reported in Sunday Outdoors.
The two emaciated cougar kittens were reported along the highway near the Grande Ronde River hanging out by the picked-clean carcass of their road-killed mother. They were captured by Washington Fish and Wildlife staff.
While bear cubs are omnivores that can be raised in captivity and released back into the wild with high survival rates, cougar kittens are a different animal.
"Cougars are carnivores and humans don’t have an effective way to teach a baby mountain lion how to hunt for its food,” explained Madonna Luers, Fish and Wildlife Department spokeswoman.
That left the pair of 7-week old kittens two options: Placement in a zoo or being put down.
The outcome: Washington's cougar and bear specialist Rich Beausoleil just reported that after a week-long search, the two cougar kittens from Asotin County were placed today with Alexandria Zoological Park in Alexandria, Louisiana.
"They will fly out Tuesday morning," he said.
In 15 years, the agency’s staff had captured 35 orphaned cougars and transferred the kittens to facilities across the county. “Those mountain lions from Washington are seen across the country by 25 million people a year who are enjoying and appreciating them, and hopefully learning something about them,” Luers said.
The Grande Ronde kittens will bring the number to 37 orphaned cougars from Washington becoming wildlife ambassadors.
