Oakland Zoo Treats Mountain Lion Cub Badly Burned In Zogg Fire

OAKLAND, CA — In the midst of the deadly and massively destructive Zogg Fire, firefighters managed to pluck one lucky feline out of the fire's path. "Captain Cal," is a 4 pound male mountain lion cub that was rescued by Cal Fire Wednesday and is currently recovering at the Oakland Zoo.

The orphaned cub arrived at the zoo around 7 p.m. Wednesday night, with severely burned paws, irritated eyes and his whiskers completely singed off. But after a few days of treatment and recuperation, the zoo's veterinary team says the baby cub is already eating on his own and even baring his teeth.

"Captain Cal is doing a lot better," Isabella Linares, a marketing associate for the Oakland Zoo, told Patch. "[He's] still recovering but now has bandages around his leg wounds to help [him] heal faster...He is responding very well to treatments and his milk formula."

Capt. Cal was named after Cal Fire's mascot, the muscular cartoon mountain lion dressed as a firefighter, who's storyline is similar to the cub's Zogg Fire rescue. The firefighting mascot's motto is "safety starts with you."

Firefighters spotted the baby in the Zogg Fire zone Wednesday, initially mistaking him for a house cat, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Firefighters in Shasta County reported that he was wandering along Zogg Mine Road alone before he dove under the safety of a fallen tree. First responders then placed the kitten in a box and turned him over to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The wild cub was then rushed from the fire in Redding to the Oakland Zoo Wednesday.

He was immediately cleaned up, given antibiotics, supportive fluids, pain medication and fed a milk formula for domestic kittens through a syringe.

Zoo veterinarians determined through x-rays Oct. 1 that there was no damage to his developing lungs from smoke inhalation or bone damage to his paws from his burns.

Linares says the zoo is also working with UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital to determine how to better car for Capt. Cal's wounds.

The Oakland Zoo helped launched the Bay Area Cougar Action Team in 2013 in partnership with Bay Area Puma Project and the Mountain Lion Foundation, to help save mountain lions caught in wildfires.

This marks the zoo's 13th mountain lion cub rescue in two years in partnership with the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"We’re cautiously optimistic that this cub will now survive and thrive," said Alex Herman, director of the zoo's Veterinary Hospital in a statement. "Our dedicated team at Oakland Zoo is fully committed to do everything we can for him and for his beautiful species.”

And although Capt. Cal is expected to recover, he will not be able to return to the wild due to his size and young age.

SEE ALSO: CA Fires 2020: Golden State Sees First 1M Acre Single Wildfire

"We are hopeful that under the Zoo’s care, it will get a second chance as an ambassador for its species," said Dean Clifford, CDFW's senior veterinarian.

Mountain lion cubs typically stay by their mothers' side until they are around two years old, according to the zoo. But Capt. Cal, who was separated from his mother, won't be able to learn how to hunt and survive in the wild.

But the zoo says "he will be placed in a suitable forever home" after he is ready to leave the zoo's hospital.

“We are so grateful for the Oakland Zoo’s expertise, world-class facilities and willingness to step up – on extremely short notice – to help wildlife in need,” Clifford said in a news release.

Rescued #ZoggFire mountain lion UPDATE: our vet staff treated "Captain Cal" and removed the dead skin from his wounded feet, then wrapped each foot in bandages to heal.

He's drinking formula & getting lots of TLC. We are hopeful that he will continue to improve! pic.twitter.com/5rKIKvhYPM
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) October 4, 2020