Tiny bobcat kitten named Lee rescued in last weekend's post-tropical storm
Several soaking wet and windblown animals were taken to the Atlantic Wildlife Institute in southeastern New Brunswick when post-tropical storm Lee blew through the region.
Among those rescued were a few squirrels, a chipmunk and a hummingbird, according to Pam Novak, the director of wildlife at the rehabilitation centre near Sackvlle.
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But there was one clear standout — a tiny bobcat kitten — who Novak estimates is only about one month old.
Weighing in at just 759 grams, or 1.6 pounds, the kitten won't be ready for release until spring.
'It's just not your ordinary, everyday kitten, this is a tropical-storm Lee kitten so hence her name is now Lee,' says Pam Novak, director of wildlife care at the Atlantic Wildlife Institute near Sackville, N.B. (Submitted by Pam Novak)
Novak said it's unusual for bobcats to be born so late in the year, and just as surprising is the way the bobcat was found.
A ranger from Dieppe's Department of Natural Resources office contacted her to say a nearby resident was outside in the Jolicure area during the storm feeding stray cats when they noticed an unusual kitten trying to climb up their leg.
"They recognized right away that this was not a regular domestic cat," Novak said, with a laugh.
"They're definitely a little bit more aggressive, they have the complete bobcat look to them with a small little bobtail but just very tiny and nowhere able to be on its own yet."
While the kitten is "a handful," Novak says she is in good shape with no parasites. There was no sign of the mother, but she suspects the kitten couldn't have been on her own for very long.
'A feisty little thing'
Novak decided that, as the most unique arrival at the centre during the post-tropical storm, the bobcat kitten needed a special name.
Lee after eating her first meal out of a bowl. (Submitted by Pam Novak)
"It's just not your ordinary, everyday kitten, this is a tropical-storm Lee kitten so hence her name is now Lee."
Novak is still working with Lee on a feeding schedule and trying to teach her how to eat out of a bowl as the kitten is biting through syringes and feeding bottle nipples with her "pointy little piranha teeth."
She said most years the wildlife centre gets a few young bobcats from all over the province, but this one is special.
"Even at 750 grams, she is a feisty little thing," Novak said. "I'm already sporting some battle wounds."
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Thumbnail courtesy of Pam Novak via CBC.
The story was originally written by Rhythm Rathi and published for CBC News. It contains files from Shift.
