Out & About: Orphaned cougars adopted by zoo

OUTCOME – It’s not a perfect ending, but at least it’s a happy one to last Sunday’s unsettling story of two orphaned cougars.

The two emaciated cougar kittens had been reported along the highway near the Grande Ronde River hanging out by the scavenged carcass of their road-killed mother. They were captured by Washington Fish and Wildlife staff.

While bear cubs are omnivores that can be raised in captivity and released back into the wild with high survival rates, cougar kittens are a different animal.

Cougars are carnivores and humans don’t have an effective way to teach a baby mountain lion how to hunt for its food, said Madonna Luers, Fish and Wildlife Department spokeswoman.

The pair of 7-week-old kittens had two options: placement in a zoo or being put down.

Department cougar and bear specialist Rich Beausoleil announced Monday that after a week-long search, the two cougar kittens from Asotin County were placed with Alexandria Zoological Park in Alexandria, Louisiana.

They traveled to their new home by commercial airline on Tuesday.

In 15 years, the agency’s staff had captured 35 orphaned cougars and transferred the kittens to facilities across the county.

“Those mountain lions from Washington are seen across the country annually by 25 million people who are enjoying and appreciating them, and hopefully learning something about them,” Luers said.

The Grande Ronde kittens will bring the number to 37 orphaned cougars from Washington that have become wildlife ambassadors.

Wilderness topic

in Missoula

OUTPLAN – Public lands and wilderness experts will gather at the University of Montana this week to present 30 workshops on public lands and wilderness.

The seventh annual National Wilderness Workshop, set in Missoula for the first time, will bring together stakeholders from around the country will discuss strategies for “ensuring that wild public lands remain relevant to an increasingly plugged-in and urban society,” organizers say.

Sessions will be held Wednesday through Friday followed by field trips on Saturday.

Keynote speakers include Sue Spear, U.S. Forest Service wilderness director. Presentation topics include the increasing diversity among public land users, engaging millennials and navigating new public-nonprofit partnerships.

Info: wildernessalliance.org.