RED LODGE - Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks asked wildlife rehabber Dave Pauli to pick up a orphaned Mountain Lion kitten.
"It was a hunter that was out, and he apparently just found it abandoned. They picked it up and had it for several days, trying to find some place that could take it and give it that initial rehab. It really did need it because it was dehydrated, it was constipated, and it only weighed 4.5 pounds," said Pauli, an outreach specialist with Greater Goods Charities Wildlife.
Pauli wasn’t able to nurse the few-week-old kitten back to health himself, so the state game warden connected him to Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary
See the mountain lion kitten:
The kitten was “very emaciated and in need of rescue, not totally sure what happened to its mother. The game warden up at Fort Belknap gave us a call to see if we would be able to take it," said Executive Director of Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary BR Walker.
Walker says they were more than willing to take the kitten.
Fast forward a month, and the kitten is now in better health and growing bigger.
“We’ve been giving her formula, kitten formula, as well as ground beef and cut-up mice, a delicious lunch," said Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary Animal Care Manager Mason Williams.
Since the animal can’t return to the wild, those at the sanctuary want to build an enclosure that will allow it to live its best life.
"We’ve raised $135,000 of the $200,000 that we need to begin building a proper structure for her," Walker said.
While the cat may look cute as a kitten, the apex predator won’t fit in just any enclosure once fully grown.
“If you are familiar with mountain lions, they are extremely agile, and they can jump over a 16-foot fence," said Walker.
Victoria Porter is the secretary of the sanctuary’s board of directors and remembers just how popular the last mountain lion they had was.
She says if they secure enough funds to keep the cat, it will help people learn about the species from Montana and beyond.
“People in Red Lodge appreciate the sanctuary for the ability to come and go as they please and see wild animals that they would not otherwise see, and we get visitors from all over the world," said Porter.
If the sanctuary isn’t able to raise the funds, it’s likely the animal will still go to a good home, albeit at a zoo likely outside of Montana.
A link to a fundraiser can be found below.
