they grow up so fast, sniff, sniff

[emptystep]

Since last summer, when she emerged as an orphaned kitten who affectionately introduced herself to crews battling a major wildfire in Plumas County, Chips the bobcat has been diagnosed with an attitude problem.

She's too nice for a bobcat.

Every time Hair and the crew would stop, she nuzzled up to his boot, snuggling his chaps. He picked her up. She had second-degree burns on her paws. Her eyes were full of soot and pus.

"Tad just took pity on her," said Nan Powers, another volunteer for Sierra Wildlife Rescue, a Placerville group that helps orphaned or injured animals, from squirrels to coyotes, to recover and return to the wild. "He gathered her up and flushed her eyes out.

"Some girls have all the luck."

So now there's no more cuddling for Chips, no more soft bed. She's having to chase down her own live mice, and occasionally a rabbit, with Tuffy and Sierra. Only on special days does she get some ready-made roadkill squirrel.

And now she's getting an attitude, hiding under an enclosure when humans approach. But generally, unlike her pen mates, she'll still stick her head out to take a peek.

The three bobcats are due to be released into the wild next spring. Meanwhile, Sierra Wildlife Rescue is seeking donations to pay for the three pounds of food a day the animals consume.

Read more here: Bobcat gets lessons on living wild - Sac Paws - The Sacramento Bee

She has her own web page!
Chips the Bobcat | Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc.

For those who didn't see this was my first, and will always my favorite, avatar.

 

[whitehall]

Sierra Wildlife Rescue can't afford 9 pounds of food per day? What do they normally rescue?

 

[emptystep]

Sierra Wildlife Rescue can't afford 9 pounds of food per day? What do they normally rescue?

Never seen an animal rescue center I assume.

 

[Michelle420]

cute