Montana Firefighters Rescue Pair Of Mountain Lion Cubs From Forest Fire


Two Montana firefighters are being praised for their quick thinking that helped save the lives of two mountain lion cubs trapped in a forest fire, reports CNN. The forest fire which ravaged a 50 acre area in the Bitterroot National Forest was eventually contained – but not before the two mountain lion cubs were rescued. The photographs of the two firefighters, later identified as Jared Chandler and Sara Steele, with the tiny cubs in their hands has been shared thousands of times of social media.

In the photographs, the mountain lion cubs look like charred chunks of wood. The firefighters have however confirmed that the cubs are in perfect health and that their fur was blackened because of the smoke.

The tiny mountain lion cubs were spotted by the firefighters under a burning log on Friday during a fire that broke out in the area. They later called in a helicopter to help them extinguish the flames surrounding the logs under which the cubs were trapped. After the fire had been doused, the scared animals were rescued by the duo.

montana lion cubs

A report by KTVQ says;

“Firefighters called in a helicopter bucket drop to douse the log and the kittens with water. They were then able to save the young cats from death in the burning forest.”

The mountain lion cubs are estimated to be no more than one or two weeks old and are being currently being cared for at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Helena. At this moment, there is no clarity whether the rescued mountain lion cubs would be returned to the wild. Officials are also looking out for the mother of the cubs – and so far they have not been able to locate her. Any decision regarding the eventual return of the mountain lion cubs to the wild would be only take place after their mother is located.

While the fire at the Bitterroot National Forest are was fully contained within hours, officials say that the fire was most likely caused by humans.

[Image Via Facebook]

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