Bobcat Released back into the wild by Lindsay Wildlife Experience
Bobcat recovers and goes back to the wild thanks to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital!
WALNUT CREEK – The rare release of a young bobcat March 5, came nearly six months after the cat was brought with life threatening injuries to the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital.
The bobcat first came to the hospital Oct. 19 after it was found hissing and growling, snarled in a barbed wire fence in Oakley.
At dusk, Thursday March 5, the nine-month old feline was released on private property just outside of Brentwood, near where the young kitten was found. This was done with the property owner’s permission and approval of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The bobcat was brought to Lindsay last fall at eight-weeks-old, after a businessman, who owns property in the area, rescued the cat. The rescuer called his sister and his staff for help wrangle the young cat into a pet carrier, and brought her to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital. This allowed Lindsay’s hospital team to treat a puncture wound on her neck, preventing life-threatening infections.
Lindsay’s Director of Veterinary Services Doctor Guthrum Purdin partnered with Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue for the long term rehabilitation of the bobcat because they have expertise with big cats and the space to provide rehabilitation.
“It’s been a long journey for this little bobcat, but she has recovered from her injuries and has proven able to catch and cache prey,” Purdin said. “It’s time for her to go back to where she belongs; wild and free.”
The bobcat was originally brought in weighing around three pounds and now weighs six-pounds, Purdin said. Her new home is appropriate habitat for bobcats with plenty of open space, good sources of food and opportunities for protected covered places to sleep.
Lindsay Wildlife receives an average of one bobcat a year, Purdin said. While Lindsay Wildlife does release many rehabilitated animals each year, a bobcat is unique for the hospital which has closely monitored this cat’s progress. And it fulfills Lindsay’s promise to get wildlife back into their natural habitat after injury or abandonment.
The hospital treated more than 5,500 wild animals last year. Helping injured animals, and the people who find them, is everyday work for Lindsay, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2015 and is first wildlife rehabilitation hospital in the nation. Anyone can call Lindsay Wildlife’s hotline, at 925-935-1978, for help or advice if they find an injured or wild animal on their property. Lindsay Wildlife is located at 1931 1st Ave. in Walnut Creek. For more information, go to www.lindsaywildlife.org
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