New videos from the Oakland Zoo show that the mountain cub hobbled by hypothermia that they took in last week is eating again and pulling a lovely recovery, while the zoo’s animals got Christmas presents to rip open, or faux gingerbread houses to play with.
We told you the story last week of an abandoned, three- to four-month abandoned mountain lion cub who was starving and caught hypothermia in the Santa Cruz mountains, who was taken in by the Oakland Zoo, where they hope to nurse the cub named Holly back to health. And as of Tuesday, we have plenty of encouraging news on the cub’s medical condition. But before we get to the medical updates, let’s start with a video of the mountain cub just posted Tuesday morning, where the lil’ cub is trying to give you a nose-boop. Nose-boops from a lil’ mountain lion cub!
“This mountain lion behavior is exactly the kind we want to see. In addition, she's eating, exploring and investigating her new stall, and in true cat fashion, taking a lot of naps as she builds her strength,” the zoo says in their Tuesday Facebook post. In a Christmas Day post, the zoo said that “Holly is already showing us a calm but curious demeanor. She’s eating a slurry of formula and crunchy food, but has a growing appetite, and we’re working on getting Holly to eat meat.”
And previously, a Friday update said of the cub that “She's maintaining hydration, blood glucose, and temperature. She's also eating reliably, and getting feistier! Her bloodwork still looks good. Hopefully we can transition her to oral medications in the next couple days to limit stress. Still a long road ahead for this rescued mountain lion orphan, but she is responding well to treatment so far.”
And it was a pretty grand holiday weekend at the Oakland Zoo, as seen in the video below, where the animals got presents to open, which they did using their own unique animal-style methods.
The elephants got a “gingerbread house,” which was not actually gingerbread, and instead appears to be cardboard.
Yet there were treats for those elephants nonetheless. “Donna and Lisa enjoyed exploring and discovering the treats, including candy canes made out of coconut milk and cranberries, and jello gumdrops,” the zoo posted.
In terms of the mountain lion cub Holly, Bay Area News Group has a new interview with the woman who discovered the cub under her porch in the Santa Cruz mountains. “We don’t know what happened to the mom. Unfortunately, she didn’t come back. That would have been the best-case scenario, definitely,” the woman Judy Sambrailo told the News Group. “But we think maybe it could sense the water was here, the pond, and needed water. I think it came to the pond and then found the closest place it could hide.”
Parenthetically, the Oakland Zoo is closed Tuesday daytime “due to heavy rain,” though may be open again Tuesday night for their ongoing annual Glowfari festivities. So if you have tickets for either Tuesday or Wednesday, keep an eye on the Oakland Zoo Facebook page for updates.
Related: Orphaned Mountain Lion Cub Hobbled By Hypothermia, Taken In By Oakland Zoo [SFist]
Screenshot: Oakland Zoo via Facebook
