Rescued T.O. Mountain Lion Cub Loses Leg

The abandoned kitten is recovering at the Oakland Zoo.

August 26, 2026 · Thousand Oaks

The baby mountain lion rescued from a den near Thousand Oaks this spring has had a hind leg amputated, the Oakland Zoo said this week.

The cub, now named Crimson, was about three weeks old when National Park Service researchers pulled him from a den in the Santa Monica Mountains in late March, after his GPS-collared mother, P-130, failed to return for four days. As previously reported, he was found underweight and missing several toes on one hind foot.

Veterinarians at the Oakland Zoo, where Crimson was flown days after his rescue, spent months trying to save the foot with bandages and braces, [KTLA is reporting](https://ktla.com/news/california/rescued-socal-mountain-lion-kitten-undergoes-leg-amputation/). Ultimately, they determined amputating the limb gave him the best shot at long-term mobility.

The zoo says the cub was back to his curious, energetic self almost immediately after surgery.

Zoo officials have theorized Crimson's deformed foot may be why his mother abandoned him. It's also why he'll never return to the wild. He is slated to be paired with Clover, a female cub rescued in El Dorado County earlier this year, and placed permanently at a zoo.

Crimson is the 33rd mountain lion the Oakland Zoo has taken in, [the Ventura County Star is reporting](https://www.vcstar.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2026/08/23/see-the-mountain-lion-kitten-found-in-ventura-county-now-at-oakland-zoo/91392121007/).