Zoo Idaho welcomes new additions

Zoo Idaho in Pocatello has two new additions – a bobcat kitten and a young bull elk.

The bobcat has not been named yet, but she is four months old. She was found in the St. Anthony area and was taken to Idaho Fish and Game, who then contacted Zoo Idaho to see if they had space for her.

Fish and Game doesn’t know what happened to her mother.

The other new face the public will be seeing is Big Bob the bull elk. He’s about three years old. He’s very from the Mountain Home area and weighs about 400 pounds.

Peter Pruett, Zoo Idaho superintendent, said both animals are rescues. He said the bobcat was a little on the thin side when they got her, but otherwise both animals were in good shape.

However, he said if they hadn’t been able to take Big Bob, he would have had to be euthanized.

Pruett said he’s always happy when they have the space to take in animals. He said about 90 percent of their animals at the zoo are rescues.

“These are animals that are rescued in the wild that need some type of rehabilitation or can’t thrive on their own so by bringing them in, we’ve given them a great opportunity to really live a long, strong, happy, healthy life,” Pruett said.

Pruett said the bobcat needs to get a little older before they can put her in the bobcat exhibit with the other one. So the public can see her next spring.

The public can see Big Bob now though, he’s being kept in a quarantined corral for now but the public can still see him as they walk through. Pruett said he’s quarantined just to make sure he doesn’t have any illness that the other animals could catch.

The zoo’s next big public event is the annual “Zoofari” on Aug. 20. This year it will feature a first-ever pie eating contest against Shoni, the grizzly bear. It will be Shoni versus Mayor Brian Blad of Pocatello, Peter Pruett, and other community members. The event is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.