INJURED BOBCAT, BELIEVED HIT BY CAR, RETURNS TO WILD

San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife Team rehabilitates bobcat before release

February 9, 2023 (Ramona) --  A bobcat, who spent three weeks in care with San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife team, returned to the wild this week. The adult male was released by Project Wildlife staff in Mission Trails Regional Park, not far from where he was initially found on Jan. 18 by a good Samaritan who called San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement for help.

Humane Officers  transported the injured cat to the Veterinary Emergency Group in Encinitas, where he was triaged and given supportive care overnight. The bobcat arrived to San Diego Humane Society on Jan. 19 with injuries indicating he had likely been hit by a car. Project Wildlife’s veterinary team at the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Center in San Diego immediately administered pain medication, performed radiographs and treated the bobcat for abrasions and minor contusions.

Once stabilized, the bobcat was moved the next day to the organization’s Ramona Wildlife Center, where Project Wildlife’s staff specialize in caring for native apex predators such as bobcats, coyotes and bears.

In Ramona, the team conducted additional medical tests including a dental exam, which included an extraction of the bobcat’s broken tooth. Once healed and cleared medically, wildlife care specialists monitored the bobcat to ensure he was able to feed on his own and met the criteria for release.

“Seeing this bobcat return to the wild is what it’s all about for us,” said Andy Blue, campus director of San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center. “Bobcats play an important ecological role in our region and we are glad to see this one back where he belongs. I am grateful to the citizen who found the bobcat, our Humane Officers, Veterinary Emergency Group and our staff for collaborating to save his life.”

San Diego County is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States with the greatest number of endangered species. People from all over the county bring wildlife patients to San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife program for rehabilitation and care. Each year, SDHS gives nearly 13,000 injured, orphaned and sick wild animals a second chance. In 2020, SDHS announced the Ramona Wildlife Center, where they specialize in caring for native apex predators and birds of prey, including hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes, bears, bobcats and, under special pilot authorization, mountain lions.

 Serving San Diego County since 1880, San Diego Humane Society has campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego. For more information, visit  http://sdhumane.org.