A custom-built kennel and a generous memorial donation helped a badly injured Pennsylvania bobcat find her way back to the wild.
In February, a car hit the young female bobcat, trapping her head in the grill and dragging her along the road. The crash broke one front leg and one back leg. She arrived at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in shock and pain on a Sunday. Nearby veterinary offices were closed, but a friend connected the center with an equine veterinarian who brought a mobile X-ray machine.
The X-rays showed two clean breaks, giving the team a path forward. Raven Ridge sent the scans to its veterinarian, who shared them with two orthopedic surgeons. Both agreed to operate the next morning. They worked at the same time, one on each leg, to limit how long the bobcat would need to be under anesthesia. More than four and a half hours later, both surgeries were successful.
Recovery required patience. For two months, she could not run, jump, or pounce while her legs healed. Follow-up X-rays eventually showed that her bones were aligned, and she was ready to move outside and rebuild her strength.
Raven Ridge had never rehabilitated a bobcat and did not have a suitable outdoor enclosure. Commercial builders estimated an eight-month wait, far too long for an animal who needed to exercise. That changed when Raven Ridge photographer Dawn Rise Ekdahl called a neighbor who owned a kennel-building business. He finished a custom kennel in just two weeks.
Then, on the very day construction began, Raven Ridge received a letter from the husband of longtime supporter Raven Minervino, who had died. He had asked people to donate in her memory instead of sending flowers. The gift enclosed was large enough to cover the kennel. It was a fitting coincidence: a woman named Raven had helped Raven Ridge give the bobcat room to heal. The center said it would honor Minervino with a plaque on the enclosure. Once inside, the bobcat began exploring and exercising again. She gained 10 pounds, reaching a healthy 19 pounds.
By early August, months of surgery, rest, and rehabilitation had brought her all the way back. Raven Ridge released her into the wild in a moment the center called “deeply emotional.”
Lady Freethinker celebrates this remarkable homecoming and thanks the veterinarians, rehabilitators, donors, builders, and everyone else who helped her heal and go home.
For another happy return to the wild, meet 43 animals who went home to their natural habitats in Colombia.
