Goodnight, Moony! Bobcat
”
Moony
”
weighed less than 5 pounds when she was found alongside the
Coastal Trail in Half Moon Bay early in December last year and
brought to the Peninsula Humane Society. Five pounds would be the
average weight for a 3-month-old bobcat kitten, so it was a shock
to find that she was actually an emaciated 8-month-old.
Goodnight, Moony! Bobcat “Moony” weighed less than 5 pounds when she was found alongside the Coastal Trail in Half Moon Bay early in December last year and brought to the Peninsula Humane Society. Five pounds would be the average weight for a 3-month-old bobcat kitten, so it was a shock to find that she was actually an emaciated 8-month-old.
As she was a juvenile and had no apparent injuries, it was a mystery why she was so near death from starvation, but veterinarians suspected she had been inadvertently poisoned, possibly second-hand from eating a poisoned field rodent.
She was a feisty 7-pounder when she arrived at WERC later that month. Since she was well beyond kitten-hood, she didn’t require the services of WERC’s bobcat mother surrogates – humans who dress up in full-body costumes to feed and interact with the young animals so they don’t become habituated. Moony remained wild and wary of humans during her stay at WERC, hiding on a high shelf and growling at the volunteers who entered the enclosure to clean up.
With lots of room to roam, jump and run around inside the large bobcat enclosure, Moony built up her strength and weight with a diet of four to five large rodents a day, and acclimatized to outdoor weather conditions. To ensure that she was well on the road to health and remained that way once she was released, Moony received monthly physical exams by Dr. Suzanne Colbert (Princevalle Pet Hospital, Gilroy), who also vaccinated her against rabies and other feline diseases.
On May 16, now 1-year-old and a robust 15 pounds, Moony was released at Burleigh Murray Ranch State Park in Half Moon Bay. Park officer Jeff Wadkins led the way to a beautiful secluded area in the park, lush with trees, green grasses and flowing streams. Colbert had the honor of opening the kennel and witnessing Moony’s joyous return home to the wild.
n n n
Like a revolving door, one bobcat leaves and another arrives. Six-week-old “Stanley” was discovered early in May by a man out walking his dog at a park in Patterson. He first thought the kitten was a house cat, as it was sitting all alone underneath a tree. On closer look, he was surprised to see that it was actually a baby bobcat.
The man called up his local wildlife center for advice on what to do, as he was very concerned that it was orphaned and could starve or be attacked by predators. The bobcat was taken in by Stanislaus Wildlife Center, who immediately contacted the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center.
WERC is nationally renowned for its techniques in rehabilitating orphaned single bobcat kittens. Little Stanley is now at WERC in a special bobcat “nursery” and is cared for by a surrogate mother (a human in costume) who keeps him socialized with bobcat games that help reinforce his hunting instincts. He is weaned and has a healthy appetite for small rodents.
In mid-June, he will be big enough to move into the outdoor bobcat enclosure that Moony has just vacated. By autumn, when he is at least 6 months old, Stanley will be returned to the habitat where he was found.
