The three rescued cubs were relatively healthy but thin after it was determined the mother was absent for about two weeks before their rescue, zoo officials said.

Three mountain lion cubs, believed to have been orphaned after their mother was killed by a car, are currently recovering at the Oakland Zoo in California. Fern, Thistle and Spruce were found by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in Portola Valley in San Mateo County less than half a mile from where a female lion was hit by a car,

Oakland, United States - January 28, 2025 Three orphaned mountain lion cubs, found wandering in Portola Valley, are now recovering at Oakland Zoo after being rescued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Midpeninsula Open Space District.

Authorities believe their mother was hit and killed by a vehicle in the Portola Valley area of San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area, zoo officials said. The mountain lion carcass has since vanished, so they can’t confirm her relationship to the cubs through DNA.

Three mountain lion cubs hiding under a car were rescued and taken to Oakland Zoo, where they received treatment. The mountain lion presumed to be their mother was found dead less than half a mile away.

“At the same time,” the Mountain Messenger reports, “a family friend, who was also called just after the neighbor, arrived on the scene with a hunting rifle. Seeing the mountain lion injured but not yet dead, he put it down with a shot to the head.”