WACO, Texas — The Cameron Park Zoo said it is adopting an orphaned mountain lion cub from South Dakota in a press release Monday.
The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks found a trio of mountain lion cubs, two males and one female, and discovered their mother was dead, according to the press release.
Game officials stabilized the cubs, then contacted the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which then reached out to the Oklahoma City Zoo and Cameron Park Zoo to house the cubs.
According to South Dakota state protocol, recovered cubs can't be returned to the wild.
For now, the cubs will stay at the Oklahoma City Zoo as a family group during their first crucial stage of development, the release said.
The Cameron Park Zoo will house the female cub, once it's ready to leave its brothers, the release said. The zoo doesn't have a date yet for when the cub will come.
The name "Tawakoni" was chosen for the cub to honor the historical endemic tribe, which later became a branch of the Wichita tribe, the zoo said. The Tawakoni inhabited the banks of the Brazos and were allied with the Hueco tribe, which the city of Waco is named after.
When translated to English, Tawakoni means "river bend among red sand hills." Tawakoni's brothers are Toho, which means "Cougar god," and Tanka, or "great spirit" in the Lakota language.
Here are some fun facts about the cubs:
- All three are healthy, extremely energetic, and currently weigh nine to 10 lbs. each. They are nine weeks of age.
- During their next wellness exam on Wednesday, the Oklahoma City Zoo’s veterinary care team will visually examine, weigh, and vaccinate the cubs. If you would like to watch the exam live go to @okczoo on Twitter at 10:30 a.m.
- The youngsters are currently on a feline meat diet.
