Tahmahlah is here at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary after he was orphaned in a California forest fire in September 2015 at just 4 months old. He was brought to us from another facility about a year later because we had more space and could provide a better quality of life.
Tahmahlah suffered burns to his paw pads in the wildfire, which led to permanent nerve damage, and burns to his face that affected his eyesight. Because of these injuries, Tahmahlah wouldn’t be able to navigate himself in the wild and was deemed non-releasable.
Though technically a California Cougar, Tahmahlah represents the Florida Panther — the most endangered cat in North America with less than 200 left in the wild. Panthers, cougars, pumas, and mountain lions all belong to the same family but differ in physical characteristics based on their habitats. The Florida Panther, for example, is smaller and has darker coloration throughout its body compared to the California Cougar.
