Wildlife Rescuers Save an Abandoned and Starving Mountain Lion Cub and Move Him to a California Zoo
By Moná Thomas
Published on April 3, 2026.
A 3-week-old male mountain lion cub, named Crimson, has been rescued and moved to Oakland Zoo for 24-hour care. The cub was found alone in Southern California and had been abandoned after losing about 10% of his body weight. Wildlife officials from the National Park Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife rescued him from the Los Angeles Zoo on March 25. Despite being in "overall good health," the cub was missing multiple toes on one paw, which the care staff believed was an injury sustained in the wild. The Oakland Zoo hopes to introduce Crimson to another rescued cub, Clover, when he is larger and more robust.
Read Original Article