Shasta (Mountain Lion)
Felis concolor
Mountain lions are found in mountainous regions all over North America. They go by many names – cougars, pumas, panthers, and catamounts. They are big cats with adult males weighing as much as 200-250 pounds. They are very secretive and solitary preferring to avoid human contact. Their main prey is deer though they will eat a wide range of small mammals. Mountain lions are stalkers and can leap 20-23 feet from a standstill. They have a keen sense of sight especially in dim light-- six times better than humans.
A maintenance crew checking high power lines in the Sierras picked up Shasta as an abandoned kitten. The couple running the camp bottle-fed him until they were able to find a home for him at Critter Creek. Mountain lions cannot be rehabilitated in the state of California, so Shasta will stay here. He lets out a peeping vocalization when he sees or hears someone he knows. His favorite toys are pumpkins which he shreds within a few hours. His enclosure is enormous—60’X40’X15’ at the domed arch. He has tree trunks and stumps, a cave, rock outcroppings—everything he wants to play hide and seek with us. He also has an appetite, eating an average of 5 pounds of meat a day. Mountain lions are the largest cats that still purr and Shasta is the best and loudest at purring.