Mountain lion cub at Oakland Zoo becomes fan favorite online
By Itay Hod
Inside a small enclosure lined with blankets and surrounded by at least two dozen stuffed animals, 5-week-old Crimson bats and tumbles. Then, he drops low, giving a quick pre-pounce shimmy before springing at his next “victim,” a fuzzy purple dinosaur with yellow hair.
“These toys are a temporary replacement for the siblings he unfortunately doesn’t have anymore,” said Amber Foley, Oakland Zoo’s lead keeper.
Crimson is a mountain lion cub who was found alone in the Santa Monica Mountains. One of the youngest animals the Oakland Zoo has ever taken in, and likely one of its cutest.
Foley said he has quickly captured attention far beyond the zoo’s walls.
“It’s wild, everyone all over social media has really taken to this guy, his story is in the newspapers, has grown a really huge fan following,” she said.
His posts, featuring his big blue eyes and fuzzy black spots, have garnered millions of views, with articles in major papers around the country and across the pond.
Wildlife officials aren’t sure exactly what happened, but believe his mother may have abandoned him because of missing toes on his hind foot.
In the wild, that kind of difference rarely ends well. At the zoo, it means constant care, a bottle every three to four hours, and a furry cloth used as a stand-in for his mother.
So far, the Oakland Zoo has saved 33 mountain lions, part of a broader shift among accredited zoos toward rescue and rehabilitation over traditional exhibitions.
Even as zoos have drawn some criticism, Nik Dehejia, the zoo’s CEO, said more time and resources are now being directed toward animals like Crimson and others that would not survive on their own.
“What people think about are animals in small spaces that are more voyeuristic, and looking at them sort of like a circus. That was the zoos of the past. It has completely changed,” he said
Across California, scientists estimate there are only a few thousand mountain lions remaining statewide, and while the species is not endangered overall, some populations, particularly in Southern California, are considered threatened due to habitat loss and isolation.
Crimson is expected to stay at the Oakland Zoo until he’s stabilized, then move to a new home where he’ll be paired with a rescued cub named Clover, which, come to think of it, sounds like a pretty lucky match.
But no matter what, Foley said, this little cub is already pulling his weight.
“There are so many areas that are fearful or resentful of mountain lions that by helping to share his story, show people who these cats are, it helps build a safer wildlife for them,” she said.
