The East Bay zoo’s two most recently rescued mountain lion kittens, Maple and Willow, have now traded coasts, finding their “fur-ever” at New England Zoo.
California’s mountain lions are — ostensibly speaking — the most famous native mammals … outside of the state’s now-extinct brown bears. However, mountain lions are being pushed out of their natural ranges as humans continue encroaching on their natural habitats, a byproduct of accommodation of the state’s growing population and national economic importance.
There’s no better reminder of this than the dozen or so mountain lions documented inside LA’s Griffith Park; P-22, a.k.a the “Hollywood Cat” that was photographed in front of the Hollywood Sign has become a searing reminder of how these “urban jungles” are coming closer to home; P-22 was euthanized in 2022, the same year he was photographed by the famous signage after researchers found he had sustained traumatic injuries from a car crash.
In November of 2023, a female mountain was struck and killed by a vehicle along Highway 280, near the Hillsboro/Burlingame area. A few days later, nearby residents reported seeing two cubs alone near the area, eventually taking safe respite in someone’s backyard. The two female kittens were promptly rescued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). After initial examination, it was deemed the two orphaned cubs would be sent to the Oakland Zoo as part of the wildlife park’s Rescue and Recovery Program for local wildlife in need.
Since being surrendered to the zoo, the sister pair of lions, named Maple and Willow, have continued to thrive and grow at dizzying rates. But because of their habituation and familiarity with humans, the pair can’t be safely released back into the wildlife; an otherwise unthreatening encounter with a human or encroachment into an urban area could prove fatal … for the animals.
Thankfully, the two have found their “fur-ever” home at the New England Zoo and were safely transported to the East Coast zoological facility earlier last week.
“Rescued mountain lion cubs Maple and Willow have made it safe and sound to their “fur-ever home, [Zoo New England],” reads a post on X from the Oakland Zoo, waxing that staff are “sad” to see the pair of kittens leave, but are grateful and exact that they were able to find a fantastic home. With help from the CDFW and the American Zoological Association, Maple and Willow were able to secure “critical care” until their new home was found.
The East Coast zoo previously housed a mountain lion named Blue, who had lived at the facility for nearly a decade before dying of natural causes in December of 2023. Maple and Willow will now help fill that faunal void and, presumably, will be on display in the zoo’s Treasures of the Sierra Madre section when they are properly acclimated and revealed to the public.
As of publishing, the Oakland Zoo has helped rescue and rehabilitate 26 mountain lions.
