The Oregon Zoo has a new, temporary guest who weighs in at just 10 pounds.
Gillin, a female cougar cub found in the wild by two men collecting firewood near Klamath Falls last month, might have been euthanized if not for the intervention of two veterinarians, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon zookeeper Michelle Schireman.
The 9-week-old cub was first turned over to a Klamath Falls veterinarian who then called ODF&W veterinarian Colin Gillin. Gillin (yep, she's named after him) called Schireman.
"I'm usually the first person fish and wildlife departments call when orphaned cubs or nuisance cats must be removed from the wild," said Schireman, who works with zoos across the country to find animals new homes.
Schireman said within hours she found Gillin a home at the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo in Green Bay, which has a 7-year-old female cougar; the two will be introduced as soon as Gillin is shipped east, as early as next week.
According to zoo officials, if state biologists can't find a home within 48 hours for orphaned cougar cubs, they are euthanized.
"Cougar cubs learn survival skills from their mothers and cannot survive without them," Schireman said. "Young cougars are deemed un-releasable."
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
No comments:
Post a Comment