A bobcat that was badly injured in the Camp Fire is now back in the wild, thanks to the work of a local wildlife rescue center.
When the six-month old bobcat was first taken to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in Auburn it was in bad shape, according to the group's president, SallySue Stein. "He was burned to the bone," she said. "That was the greatest danger to the cat."
Over a period of a few weeks doctors covered the bobcat's burned tissues with fish skins, a technique pioneered at the University of California, Davis Veterinary Center.
Slowly the bobcat regained its strength. Then Sunday it was taken in a pet carrier to a spot near Chico and released.
"When he ran up a tree, he gave me a couple dirty looks," Stein laughed. "We left him dinner, I left him pheasant and a bunch of mice."
Gold Country Wildlife also has a pair of foxes, also injured in the Camp Fire, which they hope to release in the near future.