Oakland Zoo gives update on trio of rescued mountain lion cubs

(KRON) -- A trio of orphaned mountain lion cubs that were rescued in San Mateo County have recovered with specialized care in the Oakland Zoo's wildlife rehabilitation center. They will soon be ready for forever homes, zoo officials announced this week.

The cougar siblings, Fern, Spruce, and Thistle, were found in Portola Valley in January. Their mother was likely struck by a car less than a mile away, according to Oakland Zoo.

"Due to their disoriented behavior, lack of a mother for two weeks, and proximity to where the adult female was hit, CDFW decided to capture the kittens for evaluation with help from the Midpeninsula Open Space District," zoo officials wrote in January.

On Thursday, vice president of Oakland Zoo Veterinary Services Alex Herman provided an update on what will happen to the trio of siblings.

"The journey continues for Fern, Spruce, and Thistle. Since cubs need two years with mom to learn necessary survival skills, they won’t be able to return to the wild, but Oakland Zoo is finding them purrmanent homes with the leadership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife," Herman wrote.

Spruce will be welcomed in April to the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama, where he will live with a female mountain lion. Zoo officials matched the cougars together based on their personalities. "The decision was based on the cats' personalities and will provide each of them with the socialization they need," Herman wrote.

Fern and her brother, Thistle, will remain together, zoo officials said. The CDFW is still working to find a AZA accredited home with mountain lions that will mirror natural social structures, Herman wrote.

The three siblings represent the Oakland Zoo's 28th, 29th, and 30th rescued mountain lions.

Another mountain lion, named Briar, is set to become a permanent resident of the Oakland Zoo and join two cougars, Silverado and Coloma, in the California Trail exhibit. Briar was only about one-month-old when he was rescued in the summer of 2024 in El Dorado County. Wildlife officials were unable to determine why Briar was orphaned, though the zoo said mountain lions face a number of conservation challenges from conflict with humans, habitat fragmentation, and climate change.