MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two cougar cubs orphaned in Washington are now living in Minnesota at the Wildcat Sanctuary.
The nonprofit big cat rescue in Sandstone, Minnesota, says the cubs’ mother was shot after killing a goat. Authorities found the two kittens in a shed, trapped them and brought them to Minnesota. They are about 16-18 weeks old.
The Wildcat Sanctuary says elementary students at Concord Elementary in Edina were given the chance to name the two male cubs. They came up with Blaze and Aspen.
Aspen suffered frostbite on his ears during his time in the wild without his mother. Blaze was unhurt, and on a preliminary exam he weighed 10 pounds more than his brother. The sanctuary described him as the dominant sibling.
The rescue says the two cubs will live alongside two other recently orphaned cubs. The plan is to have the four cougars grow up together in a large habitat at the sanctuary.
(credit: Wildcat Sanctuary)
