By Dylana Milobar

Injured bobcat on the mend at BC Wildlife Park

Mar 7, 2019 | 3:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — The BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops has added another patient under its hospital’s care.

After a year-old bobcat was struck by a car near Kelowna, it was brought in to the Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre for treatment.

One of two costly surgeries has already been completed for the cat. Now, the BC Wildlife Park hopes to be able to pay for further care.

After the bobcat — aptly named Gallagher — was struck by a car outside of Kelowna in the Gallagher Lakes area, a good Samaritan picked her up.

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That person called a conservation officer, who brought her to the health centre in Kamloops, according to Animal Care Manager Tracy Reynolds.

“When she came in, she had a large laceration (a large cut) to her leg. So we addressed that initially, but she couldn’t walk on her leg at all,” Reynolds explains, “So we went and took her into Oriole Road vet clinic, and they x-rayed her for us, and then we saw that her leg was very badly broken. Her femur was broken and displaced.”

A metal plate was put in at the Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Langley to stabilize her leg while it heals. After that, Reynolds says the year-old bobcat will need a second surgery to remove the plate.

“We’ll have another x-ray once everything is all said and done,” She says, “We’ve removed the plates and we see that the bone has healed enough, then we’ll release her back in the Gallagher Lake area. We will release her back where she came from.”

With 300 to 500 animals treated each year at the park, Gallagher isn’t the first, and won’t be the last.

General Manager Glenn Grant says the centre sees a wide variety of animals come through its doors. 

“So a good example is this young bobcat that you saw. Again, the surgery costs can escalate quite rapidly.”

As the BC Wildlife Park takes in hundreds of animals per year for rehabilitation, they need donations to fund the care at the Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre.

“Everything we do here at our wildlife hospital, we basically pay for it from the money we bring through the front door of the park,” Reynolds explains, “So any additional funds is helpful. The more money we have, the more we can offer the animals.”

The park is hoping to raise $3,000 to pay off Gallagher’s medical bills and care, and continue helping BC’s wildlife get back into the wild.

“I’d say more than 50 per cent of the animals that come through our rehab centre stem from human interference of some sort,” Grant explains.

For now, staff will be monitoring the injured feline closely, and bringing her back home in the weeks to come. 

“That is our ultimate goal always,” Reynolds stresses, “To have them rehabilitated and put back into the wild.”

To donate, or read more about Gallagher, click here.