So, how DO you pluck a cougar?

I turned 41 on Tuesday and spent the day at the Wildlife Science Center. Part of the day I spent plucking a cougar. "How does THAT work?" someone asked me tonight. Well, let me tell you all about it! The Wildlife Science Center has two cougars that came to us a few years ago from a zoo that closed in Michigan. They were due for vaccinations and we try to take that opportunity to incorporate the educational component of our mission by having students there. Tuesday there were students from an ALC high school and students from Argosy University who had participated in a wildlife handling class the past weekend and were so enthralled that they came back today to help.

The first step was to sedate the cougar. Peggy (the Executive Director) does this with a pole syringe. The cougars are used to people so one staff member, Matt, got Sunny, the female, to pay attention to him at one end and Peggy was able to jab her in the leg to get the medication in.

Once she was asleep, about 20 minutes later, we carried her out of the enclosure to have enough space for everyone, and got to work. Body temperature and breathing must be monitored, various vaccinations given and blood needs to be drawn for tests. Our wonderful vet, Dr. Dave Enright, was on hand to supervise and help instruct students.

My job today was plucking. Not the word you usually use with a cougar but she had lots of small, hard mats of fur along her back and they needed to come out. So, I plucked...I don't know what else you'd call it! The photo below is me working on the mats while the vet attended to Sunny before letting the students step in.

While we were working on this, another group was sedating and then working with the male cougar, Spike. He is one cool cat...but scary. He was not happy when we were working on Sunny when she first fell asleep near the holding area where he had been shut in. Have you ever heard a cougar growl? You sure don't want to hear a wild one growl, trust me. If you hear it, you're way too close. He locks eyes with you sometimes and doesn't blink. It's fascinating but eerie!

It can be a bit unnerving to handle a wild animal that you know could do some serious damage if it woke up too soon, but with Peggy and Dr. Dave in charge of the med doses, I never worry. I do stay away from their mouths though!

The rain put an early end to our day...we were supposed to also catch and vaccinate the bobcats, who apparently are much more "fun" to deal with. Example? You walk up to the cougar enclosure and Sunny purrs. You approach the bobcat enclosure and they hiss. Watch for the "bobcat wrangling" post soon.

I was very surprised by a birthday cake and all the students and staff singing happy birthday to me when we were finished. What a great way to spend my birthday!