PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two orphaned puma cubs who were rescued by the Philadelphia Zoo this summer have finally made their public debut.
The baby pumas’ mother was killed by a farmer in Washington state earlier this year. The sibling mountain lions were left orphaned until the Philadelphia Zoo took them under its wing in July.
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, partnered with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, cared for them until they were sent to Philadelphia.
Elbroch, a male puma, and Olympia, a female, are now about 7 months old and each weigh 50 pounds. They were living inside the zoo’s on-site hospital for a quarantine period before they were moved to another enclosure.
“The SSP — Species Survival Plan — actually works with wildlife agencies on the West Coast to find orphaned animals, to find injured animals and to place them within zoos,” said Maggie Morse, curator of carnivores and ungulates, “so we can tell the story about working together with wildlife and finding a place for apex predators.”
The cubs still have spots, but those will eventually fade.
“When they are little, mom will have to leave in order to hunt, and she does have to sometimes leave her babies behind, so the spots help camouflage,” Morse explained.
Elbroch is named in honor of Mark Elbroch, a leading Puma researcher. Olympia is named after the capital of Washington state.