|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The celebrated rescue of three mountain lion cubs in Portola Valley has now been chronicled in a newly published book titled, “Orphaned” by children’s book author Rochelle Perucca. All proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Phoenix and Birmingham zoos, where the cubs now reside; $4,000 has been raised.
The story of the cubs goes back to mid-January, when a dead mountain lion was found in Portola Valley near Portola Road and Willowbrook Drive. From this moment, residents were on their toes about the possibility of the lion being the mother of three cubs captured in a security camera footage weeks before. In late January, all three cubs were spotted in a cul-de-sac on Grove Drive, where local residents worked together to keep them safe until wildlife officials arrived.
The cubs were taken to the Oakland Zoo before they were transported to their forever homes in Arizona and Alabama months later.
Early on, in the series of events, town historian Nancy Lund proposed on PV Forum, the town’s private social media platform, that someone should write a book about the mountain lion cubs. Perucca, who had previously published two children’s books, reached out to Lund with an interest in writing the book.
“[This project] was made for me,” said Perucca. “My heart opened. I really like being a voice for the wild, for all the beings that can’t speak, trying to say, ‘Please, respect me, honor me. Let’s coexist.’”
Perucca, a former Rocky Mountain National Park ranger, said she was right on top of the story as it was all unraveling. She spent the months after the cubs rescue speaking to 15 Portola Valley residents about their experiences with mountain lions, learning about what happened to the cubs and researching everything there is to know about the apex predator.
While Perucca was glad to be able to share the story through her book, she also learned about the harsh reality that mountain lions face against human development and traffic.
“It’s really heartbreaking how we damage and hurt and harm wildlife and it’s their home. We’re imprisoning them and taking away their survival mechanisms,” said Perucca.
She writes in her book, “However, these wild creatures, once so elusive, are becoming increasingly visible and more vulnerable.”
“I think humans are afraid of their own vulnerability, let alone realizing that some deer or turkey is vulnerable,” Perucca said. “I fear that some people today want control, and nature isn’t meant to be controlled or changed by us.”
Mountain lion mortality has increased with the growth of human development. The most common cause of death is by vehicle collisions, wildfires, rat poison and permitted killings after accusations of preying on livestock and pets, according to the Center of Biological Diversity.
On California roads, nearly 100 mountain lions and more than 48,000 deer are killed annually, according to a report by the University of California, Davis.
When it comes to coexistence, Perucca said she wants,” [people] to pause and be still and listen and when they feel the care that is instinctual, that they will move forward to help in whatever way they can as an individual.”
The people of Portola Valley were commended by the Oakland Zoo for doing exactly that, “modeling community action of conservation and coexistence,” said Oakland Zoo spokesperson Isabel Linares to The Almanac in March.
“It was a moment when our town was coming together as human beings and looking after another species in our environment and I thought it was a very special, important thing in time,” said Lund.
In March, locals donated $75,000 to the Oakland Zoo to support its conservation programs. Nine months later, the community is still continuing to support the cubs, hundreds of miles away from Portola Valley.
“What’s really important is how this community came together with so much financial support, emotional support and care,” said Perucca. “This is a very special, unique town.”
On Sunday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m., Perucca will be hosting an author talk on “Orphaned” at the Portola Valley Library. On October 26 at 1 p.m., a book launch will be held at The Sequoias in Portola Valley.
Editor’s note: The total amount raised from book sales has been edited to reflect a more accurate number.
I wept when I saw the book, because I feel like I know these cubs from yes when they were tiny coming down off windy hill through willowbrook. It was thrilling, but when the mother was killed I knew they were in jeopardy. It is extraordinary that we found and rescued all three of them. Tragic but a relief and I’m excited about going to Birmingham and Phoenix to visit them. Coexistence is what it is about and I feel so honored to live in a town where my fellow residents embrace that, LOVE to shy little Fern, Thistle and Spruce. The book is awesome.