Wild Mountain Lion Cubs Caught in San Mateo County, Moved to Zoo

HALF MOON BAY, CA -- Two four-month-old mountain lion cubs who had been seen traveling through San Mateo County the past few days were captured Tuesday afternoon and moved to a zoo, according to state Fish & Wildlife Dept. officials.

The pair of cubs had been spotted Monday on the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail between Poplar Beach and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. An earlier sighting was reported near the city's downtown area on Sunday night, according to the San Mateo Sheriff's Office.

When it became clear the cubs were on their own and not with a parent, officers used salmon nets to ultimately capture and transport them to the Oakland Zoo.

The cubs were dehydrated, undernourished, had lesions and were covered in ticks when they arrived, according to zoo spokeswoman Erin Harrison. One also had a deep wound in his nose from a fight with a skunk.

"They are resting now, have eaten and drank a bit and are recovering," Harrison said Wednesday, after veterinarians completed an inspection with the cubs fully sedated.

The zoo is expected to care for the cubs until state wildlife officials find them a permanent home, something that might take several weeks. They won't be immediately released into the wild, Harrison said.

"They are too young to survive without a mother to teach them survival skills and how to hunt," said Harrison, explaining that kittens usually stay with their mothers for up to two years in the wild.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report/Images via San Mateo County Sheriff