Southeast Idaho mountain lions get new home in North Carolina

Two mountain lion kittens found orphaned in January in southeast Idaho were moved earlier this month to a nature preserve in the mountains of North Carolina.

The lions were found orphaned in in southeast Idaho earlier this month in a rural area near Cleveland, Idaho, about 25 miles north of Preston.

A private donor provided a private jet ride for the kittens to their new home at Grandfather Mountain, a small nature preserve, wildlife sanctuary and popular tourist attraction with a focus on native wildlife in natural habitats.

Idaho Fish and Game biologists determined the mountain lions would require frequent attention to rehabilitate them, which would have habituated them to humans. That would have presented a risk to humans, livestock, pets and the lions themselves if they had been released into the wild.

In spite of the precautions taken to ensure the kittens were returned to full health, one of them, a 48-pound male, experienced an unusual reaction to the drugs used to immobilize them for transfer and did not survive.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story called Grandfather Mountain a zoo, but it is in fact anature preserve, wildlife sanctuary and popular tourist attraction.