Alexandria Zoo is new home for orphaned cougar kittens

ALEXANDRIA, La. – A pair of male cougar kittens, orphaned after their mother was hit by a vehicle in Washington, are now calling the Alexandria Zoo home.

The Town Talk reports the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department rescued the kittens last week. Rich Beausoleil, the department’s cougar and bear specialist in Wenatchee, Washington, said the cubs appeared to be about 7-to-8 weeks old.

A third cub was killed in the accident. The two surviving kittens weighed about 10 pounds each when discovered, which Beausoleil says is only half of their normal weight at that age.

“There was nothing in their stomachs,” Beausoleil said. “They were in terrible shape.”

Immediately, the agency began what ended up being a weeklong search to find them a home.

The Alexandria Zoo is part of a network of zoos and heard about the cubs that way, Director Lee Ann Whitt said. The pair arrived in Louisiana last week.

“We’re just happy to be a part of rescuing,” Whitt said.

With its two new additions, the Alexandria Zoo now has 23 wild cats.

“They have a happy life, and they get to know the people that are taking care of them, and they respond to them,” Whitt said. “The cats are well taken care of.”

The cubs are currently under a standard 30-day quarantine.

As for when the new kittens will be out on exhibit for the public, the zoo’s general curator Lisa Laskoski said after the quarantine ends, “We’ll see.”

The zoo’s efforts for now will be putting some meat on the kitten’s bones and getting them through the quarantine period.

“They’re still a little skinny, but that just takes time to get them built up,” Laskoski said. “They’re doing great here so far. They’re eating great. They’re getting accustomed to the curator at the hospital who takes care of them, so they’re adjusting well.”

The zoo already has a cougar exhibit that currently is inhabited by an 18-year-old female.

Laskoski said they still are in the “planning stages” of what will be the cubs’ temporary exhibit.

“Eventually, they will go in the cougar exhibit,” Laskoski said. “That will be their final home.”