Yesterday I was running a little late to my naturalist class at the Wildlife Science Center near Carlos Avery. I saw the rest of the group already outside the wolf cages observing the grey wolves. A man said he would help me get in there. He took me through the classroom so I could put my books down. A woman stopped me and said I had to come in there and see something first. She was in a bathroom. Questioning my judgement, I went in there. She was holding an odd looking cat with giant feet. There were a couple similar cats on the ground around her feet. "It's a mountain lion cub," she said. I reached up my hand in awe and held it's big paw. In my head I can hear music playing, "Born Free! As Free As The Wind Blows!" I could not believe I was touching a mountain lion cub. My heart pounded. It was purring. Unlike a house cat, this animal purred in baritone. The cat had it's head down so I crouched down to get a better look at it's face. "Oh, you handsome thing," I said. How many people get to touch a mountain lion and live to tell about it? I am so lucky! This mountain lion and it's siblings will always live in captivity. It will be used for research and for future biologists to practice putting radio collars on it. To ensure a more comfortable life in captivity, this cat needs some exposure to humans. Some mountain lions (also named cougars or pumas) have been spotted in Minnesota but no cubs have been seen. We don't know if they actually live here or are just passing through. Unless a cub is spotted, they're considered visitors.
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