Blue the cougar reached a big milestone on January 9 – he had the opportunity to explore the cougar exhibit within Treasures of the Sierra Madre. While in the big exhibit, Blue was attuned to all of the new sounds and smells. He was observed sniffing around where Zeus, the adult male cougar who also resides at Stone Zoo, likes to hang out. He also noticed the native birds who were vocalizing nearby.

Since moving to Stone Zoo, visitors have been able to see Blue inside his temporary nursery within Windows to the Wild. In order to acclimate Blue to the big exhibit, which will eventually be his permanent home, he will make periodic supervised trips to the space on days that are sunny and above 25 degrees. Because he still not big enough to be in the exhibit alone, his trips, which will average 30 to 60 minutes in length, will be supervised. Visitors can still see him inside his nursery until he makes his permanent move to Treasures of the Sierra Madre.

Like many of the animals at the Zoo, zookeepers have been working with Blue on a training program. Due to his age, training is often in the form of play. This is typical for young animals, especially cats. The ability to get daily weights is very important right now as it aids staff in determining the increase in diet for his ever growing body. Crate training is equally important, and zookeepers are working hard to get Blue acclimated to his crate. This greatly assists in the ability to move Blue easily from his nursery in Windows to the Wild to the big exhibit within Treasures of the Sierra Madre.

Related:

• Read about Blue's journey to Zoo New England
• Learn more about cougars in Stone Zoo's Animals section.

Photos and video courtesy of Dayle Sullivan-Taylor