 |
This cute 3-week-old bobcat is receiving care by
wildlife specialists at Lake Metroparks Wildlife Center. |
On May 13, the Department of Natural Resources Division
of Wildlife (DOW) contacted the Lake Metroparks Wildlife Center to arrange care
for this orphaned bobcat. It was found by the side of a road in Athens, Ohio
(southeast of Columbus) not far from a dead female bobcat. DOW transported the
baby bobcat to the Wildlife Center on May 14.
"That ODNR Division of Wildlife would choose to
entrust care of this orphaned bobcat to Lake Metroparks demonstrates confidence
in our Wildlife Center," notes Paul Palagyi, Lake Metroparks Executive
Director. "This affirms the Center's excellent reputation and the high
level of care that our professional, educated and experienced staff
provides."
A local veterinarian performed a full physical exam on
the animal and determined he was fairly healthy except for being slightly
malnourished and needing treatment for parasites. Wildlife Center staff anticipate
to remedy both conditions. The bobcat is fed formula every two hours for 16
hours a day and making steady improvement. Young bobcats can survive alone in
the wild around six to nine months of age. The goal is to release the bobcat
back into a suitable habitat as determined by the DOW sometime this fall.
The bobcat is a native, threatened species in Ohio, and is very rarely seen. For
more bobcat facts from ODNR, click
here.
