Orphaned cougar kittens on their way to new home after month at Calgary Zoo

A pair of orphaned cougar kittens, whose mother was killed in a hunt last month near Canmore, have moved on from the Calgary Zoo.

Two orphaned cougar kittens, whose mother was killed by hunters near Canmore last month, have departed from the Calgary Zoo and are on their way to a new home.

The two kittens were sent to the zoo for temporary care when they were found alone near Grotto Mountain after their mother was killed in February.

The zoo sent the cougars – male and female siblings – to a new home on Wednesday after more than a month of care, according to a Facebook post Thursday.

“Though they arrived mildly underconditioned, they quickly found their footing—gaining over 10 per cent of their body weight in just their first week with us,” the zoo said in a Facebook post.

“With steady meals and exceptional care, we watched them grow and become more confident as the days passed.”

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The zoo said it is not sharing where the cougars will call home, so the new facility can make its own announcement.

Province says hunt was not unlawful

Following an investigation, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) determined the reported harvesting of the mother cougar was done so legally as part of a regulated hunt.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services, which oversees FWES, said two factors helped them come to the conclusion the hunt was legal.

“Importantly, FWES believes that the young cougars were not with their mother at the time the cougar was harvested. This factor was crucial in our assessment, as the absence of the young cougars during the hunting incident indicates that this was not a situation involving a dependent family unit,” the ministry said in a statement.

“FWES is aware of photographs showing faint spots on the kittens. These spots would likely not have been discernible in the forest environment during a hunting situation. The lighting and distance in such settings often make such markings difficult or impossible to detect in real-time.”

The ministry said at this time, there is insufficient evidence to suggest an unlawful hunt occurred.

Anyone with further information on the matter is asked to contact the report-a-poacher line, online or by calling 1-800-642-3800, or by calling their local fish and wildlife office.