Two orphaned bobcat kittens have found a safe haven at Langley's Critter Care Wildlife Society's shelter, where they are proving to be high-energy arrivals.
Wildlife supervisor Jess Cole said the first of the pair arrived in early August, after a call came in about an abandoned and orphaned bobcat from the Mission area.
"She was found near death on the side of the road with no trace of her mother," Cole said on the Critter Care website. The new arrival weighed just two pounds.
A day later, a second female orphaned bobcat had also turned up in Mission, arriving on Aug. 7.
The new arrival was found about 25 minutes away from the first cat, making it unlikely they are siblings.
"This kitten weighed four pounds and was found in a barn, mingling with feral barn kittens in her search for food, perhaps even believing she was one of them," Cole said.
The two kittens were kept apart for 10 days, allowed only to interact through their kennels. Once they were settled and healthy, they were moved together into a space dubbed the "Juvenile Delinquent Room," Cole said.
They have toys and enrichment activities to keep them busy and mentally stimulated, and are also spending a lot of time cuddling, grooming, and playing together. The older of the two is often protective of the younger when Critter Care staff are around.
Both kittens have more than doubled in size and weight since they arrived.
They're getting a diet of game meat, poultry, and rabbit, and the staff and volunteers have been scattering their foot to encourage natural foraging behaviours, said Cole.
"These two bobcats will stay with us until next spring, at which point they’ll be released back into the wild together," Cole said.
Critter Care takes in orphaned and injured wild animals, from deer to black bears to raccoons and skunks.
The goal with most animals is to rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild, but some animals that are too badly injured stay at the society permanently. That includes another bobcat, named Tucker, who has been with the society for years.
Critter Care is largely supported by donors and volunteers. Learn more at crittercarewildlife.org.
