Bobcat sisters released into wild near Powell River, B.C., 10 months after being found

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Two orphaned bobcat sisters were released into the chaotic adjacent Powell River, B.C., connected Friday, 10 months aft they were recovered malnourished adjacent a logging road.

Last July, Merrilee Prior from the Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) says she got a telephone astir 2 kittens being recovered by idiosyncratic driving up a logging roadworthy adjacent the Sunshine Coast city.

Prior says the kittens were possibly 2 weeks old, and their parent had been killed a time oregon 2 prior. Their eyes had conscionable opened, and the 2 bobcats were "very, precise hungry."

"You should person heard them roar arsenic we tried to enactment nutrient successful their cage," she told Jason D'Souza, big of CBC's All Points West. "They snarled and sounded similar thing from a sci-fi movie."

After the kittens were enactment into a crate, the rescue nine president past called up Angelika Langen — who runs the ample Northern Lights Wildlife Society successful Smithers, B.C.

Over the adjacent 10 months, Northern Lights enactment them successful an enclosure wherever they couldn't spot different humans for the astir part, successful bid to hole them for going backmost into the wild.

"Food would beryllium dropped down a chute," Prior said. "So, they ne'er associated nutrient with humans, and they were conscionable near to their ain devices.

"And they snuggled and snarled and bickered and, you know, fought each different for nutrient and grew up arsenic young bobcats would."

Langen says that her nine ever aims to instrumentality immoderate beasts that they instrumentality attraction of to their earthy homes, successful bid not to messiness with genetics oregon colonisation numbers.

"It was a batch of amusive and rather an honour to beryllium caring for them for that time," she told CBC News.

Last week, Langen and the bobcats made a lengthy travel implicit 3 days — from Smithers to Prince Rupert, a ferry to Port Hardy, and past different ferry to Powell River.

WATCH | Bobcats released into wild: 

"They came down in separate crates," Prior said. "Because they squabbled a lot, and Angelika didn't privation them going retired with bloody noses."

When the clip came for the release, Prior and her volunteers opened up the crates — and the 2 bobcats hesitated for a 2nd earlier scurrying off.

"All I did was prime them up and vessel them to idiosyncratic who could rise them," Prior said. "But it just, it felt wonderful."

The nonstop fig of bobcats successful B.C. is unknown, but the tiny feline predators mostly support to themselves.

The Squamish-Lilooet Regional District advises residents of the state to chopped backmost connected wildlife attractants to debar having them travel wrong people's homes, and besides beryllium alert of claw marks connected trails.