Foothills Sentry February 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 7 February 2021 Requiem for a queen By Robert Detrano Queen Puma the 121st of Sil- verado, born in February 2012, died on Dec. 16, 2020, a victim of the Bond Fire that ravaged her territory and took the lives of other animals in her realm. She is possibly survived by her lov- ing husband, King Puma, and her brother, Prince Puma the 97th, the Duke of Black Star. Other possi- ble family survivors include three half-sisters. Her Majesty was born near Irvine Lake. Her father was King Cougar the 86th, ruler of the far northern end of the Santa Ana Mountains and formerly a Knight of the Palomars. When just a Knight, King Cougar the 86th braved the crossing of the terrible I-15 river of death from the Palomar to the Santa Ana Mountains. This crossing has claimed the lives of many puma Knights questing for new territory, both before and since. I-15 and other highways are the most common cause of death for pumas in this area. The King settled in the Santiago Creek basin near Irvine Lake and took many mates, one of whom was the beautiful Madame F61, who was five years old, and with whom he sired Princess Puma the 121st. Sadly, after that and other matings, he met his fate on San- tiago Canyon Road when he was struck by a car. When Princess Puma the 121st was 22 months old, she was be- friended by Dr. Winston Vickers of the University of California, Davis Wildlife Health Center, part of the School of Veterinary Medicine. He gave her a beauti- ful necklace that allowed his team to track her travels throughout the kingdom during the following year. Princess 121 travelled ex- tensively throughout the realm around Irvine Lake and San- tiago Canyon, and crossed San- tiago Canyon Road safely several times, though she was once struck by a passing car, but survived. She once even entered Irvine Re- gional Park in an attempt to visit a compatriot puma at the Irvine Zoo. When she was three years old, she lost the necklace given to her by Dr. Vickers. In November 2014, he generously presented her with a new necklace. She enjoyed hunting deer in the hills north of the lake and occasion- ally ventured east and south as far as the Silverado stables. Sadly she lost one of her litter brothers who wandered onto the SR241 toll road. Her other brother, the Duke of Black Star, was taken to a zoo due to excessive curiosity around humans. Five of her half siblings lost their lives from road kill or by being shot or illegally poisoned. During her long trav- els, she undoubtedly encountered many humans whom she assidu- ously avoided (as is the way with pumas, generally) and was never known to threaten or hurt them. After her coronation as Queen of Silverado, she mated with King Puma. Shortly after that, and three weeks after the Bond Fire destroyed a portion of her territory, Orange County rangers and a game warden found her emaciated body with badly burned feet. I was fortunate to make her ac- quaintance when she sat for her portrait near a watering hole in the torrid month of October 2020. She may have been pregnant with kittens when she died from the fire. With her passing, the Santa Ana Mountains lost a bit of hope and beauty, but gained a bit of in- spiration from the gentleness and bravery displayed by her and her family. There are folks at Orange Coun- ty Parks (ocparks.com ), the Irvine Ranch Conservancy (irconser- vancy.org) and the Vet School at UC Davis who are working hard to preserve and protect the lives of every Santa Ana puma. Next time you drive the SR241 to Riv- erside county, glance at the high fences on either side. They were built by the Orange County Toll Road Agency and Caltrans under the guidance of Dr. Vickers, in order to protect our charismatic royal friends. Dr. Vickers is con- tinuing to conduct puma-saving research to try to assure the pres- ervation of these beautiful ani- mals in our local mountains and statewide. Visit detranophotos.com to see videos of wildlife in the land of Queen Puma 121st. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to research on how to preserve our beautiful wild feline friends. You can donate at camountainlions.com. Robert Detrano is a retired cardiologist and missionary doctor who has returned from his charity work in China and Burma to his cottage in Silverado Canyon. He has fallen in love with his wild neighbors and is working to protect them and their habitat. Queen Puma the 121st ruled the acreage around Irvine Park and Sil- verado Canyon. The King and Queen imbibe at a wildland watering hole. Ferris is a curious cat, and always wants to know what is going on. He likes to lay in the middle of a room to view the action inside and out the window, especially all birds, bugs, trees and traffic. He may be a little shy at first, but will slowly get comfortable and be a loyal friend. Contact OCSP Cat Res- cue at (714) 815-4300 or ocsp.adoptions@ gmail.com, putting his name as the subject. Email is fastest. Applications are on the website, ocspcatrescue.org. Looking for love