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San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife
Gives Wild Animals a Second Chance By Beth Fhaner
W
hen firefighters from the Vista Grande Fire Station spotted an orphaned mountain lion cub near a road in Idyllwild on September 2, she was semiconscious, extremely emaciated, dehydrated and weak. The firefighters needed to quickly find help for this little cub who was in critical condition, so they contacted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who then reached out to the only folks who have the expertise to help in cases like these: Project Wildlife. A program of San Diego Humane Society since 1972, Project Wildlife is the primary resource in San Diego County for wildlife to receive rehabilitative care. Recognized as one of the largest wildlife rehabilitation organizations in the country, Project Wildlife has two campuses: The Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Center in San Diego, which specializes in smaller prey species, and Project Wildlife-Ramona Campus, which specializes in the larger, predatory species that are typically more common in rural and suburban areas. On September 1, San Diego Humane Society acquired the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona from the Humane Society of the United States. The mountain lion cub was the first wildlife patient to be admitted to the 13-acre Ramona Wildlife Center since San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife took over the facility. When the cub arrived, the Project Wildlife Team immediately sprang into
58 petcompanionmag.com
