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Bob 1993-2012

Rest in peace, old friend.

Bob, the 19 year old male Cougar who was born at the Park, has died. When he came out of the birthing den, he had only the stump of a tail. That kept him from being released into the wild, but it didn't keep him from being the monarch of all he surveyed.  Some of our volunteers remember when he was no bigger than the palm of your hand and more purr than power. But he grew into a sleek, sinewy Mountain Lion, the star of hundreds of tours.

Bob had been in poor health for some time and was being treated for several ailments related to his age.  Finally, renal failure took its toll and the old Cougar died on Friday, November 30. 

Bob will be buried with honor here at the Park.  Nobody who saw him will ever forget him.

The Maine Wildlife Park in Gray is owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife—and proudly supported by the Friends.

You can almost hear her purr!

Cougar... mountain lion... puma... whatever you call her, you’d have to call her contented!

Vishnu the cougar is happy, the visitors are happy, and we couldn’t be happier with the new Cougar Habitat!


Thanks to hundreds of generous contributors, the Cougar Habitat opened in 2012 to  rave review, especially from the cougars themselves. The one you see sprawled contentedly on the grass is our 12-year-old female. Because cougars don’t play well together, she had a small corner of our old habitat to herself. She was not a happy camper in that cramped space. In fact, she spent most of her time in her den. If you saw her at all on a visit to the Park, you could count yourself fortunate.

But now she clearly enjoys the 3,500 square feet of open space. She has trees to climb, a big log for sharpening her claws and plenty of shade to rest in.


Mountain Lion Habitat just after completion Spring 2012

Visitors can sit in the shade, too, and watch the cougar through clear glass, without bars or chain-link. We’ve planted a beautiful memorial garden near the Habitat in honor of the late Connie Kippax, a Friend who especially loved the cougars. She spent untold hours tending the garden at their old habitat.

We don’t know of a better place to see a cougar anywhere! And it happened only because so many of you came through with the money we needed to build it. Thank you,

 

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