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Published 16:22 06 Oct 2020 GMT
An orphaned mountain lion cub is now recovering at Oakland Zoo after being rescued from one of California's catastrophic and, sadly, ongoing wildfires.
According to a report by the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, last month, the wildfires burned more than 1,887,932 acres and destroyed 3,368 structures, including nearly 1,000 homes.
Last month it was also reported that the 2020 wildfires on the US' West Coast had claimed the lives of 31 people thus far.
Animals, especially young ones, are vulnerable to the devastating fires. However, one particular mountain lion cub is going viral after being saved from California's Zogg fire on Sunday by a firefighter in Shasta County, per CNN.
According to the publication, the little mountain lion was taken to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and is currently at Oakland Zoo.
Related - This German Shepherd is raising two lion cubs after their mother rejected them:
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The zoo's spokesperson, Erin Harrison, said it was a "miracle" that the orphaned cub had come out of fires alive. He did, however, sustain burn injuries including badly burned paws.
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"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," said CDFW’s senior wildlife veterinarian Dr. Deana Clifford in a press release.
"Partnerships like this are absolutely critical to our state’s efforts to provide emergency care," she added. "California’s wildfires are erupting on a scale that we’ve never seen before, and we expect that we’ll have more burn patients than we have the capacity to treat in our own veterinary facility.”
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X-ray images showed that the cub was recovering well but had sustained substantial damage to the soft tissue of his paws and also eye irritation. He is currently on pain relievers, antibiotics, and fluids and is being fed milk through a syringe.
"We’re grateful to be part of this amazing little cub’s rescue and rehabilitation. It’s an amazing effort between Cal Fire, the Shasta County Sherriff’s Department, and of course our partners at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife," Dr. Alex Herman, Director of Oakland Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital said in a release.
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"In the past two years, this marks our thirteenth mountain lion cub rescue for Oakland Zoo in partnership with CDFW," he added. "We’re cautiously optimistic that this cub will now survive and thrive, our dedicated team at Oakland Zoo is fully committed to do everything we can for him and for his beautiful species.”
Since the cub is an orphan, he will not be placed in the wild in order to fend for himself. Instead, he will be looked after at an "accredited zoo".
