Orphaned cougar cub Spruce joining female cub in Wojciechowski Cougar Crossing at Birmingham Zoo

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Wojciechowski Cougar Crossing at the Birmingham Zoo is getting a new addition!

Zoo officials say Spruce, one of the trio of orphaned cougar cubs at the Oakland Zoo in California, will be making his way to the Birmingham Zoo to join the female cub in the new cougar habitat. The habitat opened on March 19.

Three cubs in California, Fern, Thistle, and Spruce, were found in Portola Valley, San Mateo County. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) believes the mother of these three cubs was the same female cougar hit by a car on Portola Valley Road about 0.3 miles from where Fern, Thistle and Spruce were found.

CDFW says in the wild, cougar cubs need about two years with their mother in the wild to learn survival skills. Because Fern, Thistle, and Spruce are so young, they lack those skills and cannot return to the wild. CDFW selects locations with the animals’ welfare and wellbeing in mind.

Spruce will be moving to The Birmingham Zoo in early April. Birmingham Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility.

The zoo says they’re partnering with FedEx to transport Spruce safely to his new home. FedEx provided the transport of the female cougar cub and the two rescued bobcats, Boomer and Baxter, earlier in March. The bobcats from California live in their own section of Wojciechowski Cougar Crossing. They have their own interior and exterior habitat spaces adjacent to the cougars.

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