Large, purring carnivorous cats: Meet the mountain lions at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo | Lifestyle


Satisfy the mountain lions at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. (Movie by Skyler Ballard)




Bad Koda.
The 18-thirty day period-outdated mountain lion, who’s even now deemed a cub right up until he turns 2 this 12 months, went and acquired his head caught in a cardboard box once more.
“Courtney to Rocky Mountain Highlands,” said Rocky Mountain Wild guide keeper Courtney Rogers into her walkie-talkie. “Koda is stuck in a box. We want the prolonged pole from about by otters to get him out of it yet again.”
Welcome to a further Tuesday in the mountain lion show at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
You just cannot truly blame the youthful fella. Right after all, there were massive hunks of uncooked pork chop inside of the box. He was only making an attempt to lick his plate.
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“They get distinctive types of enrichment each individual day. Not normally bins,” Rogers mentioned. “It’s nearly anything we can give them to challenge fix and determine out. This is the top issue fixing — this is some conflict resolution to get himself out.”
Koda doesn’t have to do considerably problem fixing right now, though, as Sitka, his 2-year-previous brother, can help de-box him. Not essentially on objective, nevertheless. It was a lot more that he was interested in the contents of the box than helping out his sibling.
Lounging close by, Sitka’s 2-year-previous sister, Adira, smugly watches the antics as she rips her have cardboard box into confetti. No head trapped in a box for this girl.
Sitka and Adira have been found orphaned in Washington ahead of landing at the zoo in 2019. Their duo became a trio when 5-month-outdated Koda, who was discovered wandering a logging highway by himself in Washington, joined the gang in 2020.
And for the reason that he had no notion how to be a mountain lion when he received to the zoo, his 1st interaction was memorable.
“He ran at her (Adira) as quick as he could due to the fact he was so excited to be with her,” Rogers mentioned. “He jumped on to her experience and held on. She didn’t enjoy it, so she ran away. It’s good — she was so a great deal more substantial and willing to operate absent from this minimal cyclone cub.”
Feed me, Seymour!
Rogers makes use of tongs to feed hunks of uncooked pork and balls of meat to Sitka through the steel fence. His white canines flash as he gobbles, and judging by his growls, he approves of his afternoon treats.
“The far better the piece, the louder his grumbles,” Rogers said. “Sometimes if a piece is truly excellent, he’ll operate away and consume it in private.”
The lions have no desire in your sweet potatoes and kale. They want meat, meat and far more meat. Also bones and trout, which may well be some thing a lion would go right after in the wild. They also adore goat’s milk, and when it comes time for an unpleasant husbandry undertaking, they acquire whipped cream afterward as a thank you for taking part.
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Stats, make sure you
Sitka is a whopping 163 lbs, making him significantly much larger than the usual 120-pound male lion. Koda clocks in at 110 pounds and Adira is 114. They are inclined to are living into their mid to late teens, with girls outliving the males.
A working day in the lifetime
A good day includes a large amount of looking at. In the late afternoons, the lions like to congregate on a heated rock at the top rated of their show and both hold an eye on their keepers or Atka, the Alaska moose. They’re also big lovers of Wolf Television, aka observing their Mexican wolf neighbors in their nearby exhibit. And do not overlook napping. These cats can sleep up to 20 several hours a day, usually in a cuddle puddle, in particular greatest buddies Sitka and Koda.
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Just huge housecats?
Cats have many identical behaviors across species, Rogers reported. Mountain lions adore a superior location to snooze, just like Sparkles does at house. They appreciate warmth, which is why their exhibit has incredibly hot rocks and a heated cave. And they want to sharpen their claws, way too, just not on a couch. They use logs. They purr, also, when they’re cuddled up jointly. And from time to time if a keeper purrs at them, they’ll purr back. Other substantial cats, these types of as lions and tigers, can only make a chuffing sounds. Mountain lions can do both equally. They also make a chirping that seems like a very little chook to converse with each other.
Pleasant to meet up with you
It’s uncommon to see one particular in the wild, Rogers claimed. If there is a circumstance of a mountain lion attacking a human, it is a starving cub or subadult who has dropped their mother. Normally, lions in the wild begin with smaller prey other animals don’t want, these as skunks and porcupines. Having down a deer will come with major challenges, these types of as receiving kicked in the jaw or breaking a leg. Lions have to function their way up to the even larger creatures.
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