An orphaned mountain lion cub rescued by state wildlife staff in southwest Colorado has been successfully raised and released back into the wild, getting a second chance at a normal life.
The female mountain lion kitten was orphaned in June 2024 and rescued by district wildlife manager Andy Brown, CPW officials said on social media this week.
Brown took the cub to the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation facility in Silt, where she lived for more than a year before growing big enough she could be released back into the wild like any normal mountain lion that leaves its mom.
CPW staff released the mountain lion back into southwest Colorado, and videos and photos of the release show the predator wanted nothing to do with humans – which is a very good sign for a rehabilitated animal, state officials said.
After taking a less-than-graceful tumble out of a cage, CPW staff watched her return to her home.
After the mountain lion had been given a reversal drug to counteract the tranqulizer, she took a short ride to be released into good mountain lion habitat in southwest Colorado.
Watch as DWM Brown opens the lion trap and she tornadoes out of the truck. pic.twitter.com/zFdD8fgFgY
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) July 29, 2025
“While the release wasn’t the smoothest ever, it is truly good to see that this mountain lion wanted nothing to do with humans, did not associate us with food and wanted to get away from us as quickly as she could,” state officials said in a post on social media. “This mountain lion now has a second chance to survive in the wild.”
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