Lassen County: Chips the Bobcat, Rescued During the 2008 Chips Wildfire Released

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Lassen County: Chips the Bobcat, Rescued During the 2008 Chips Wildfire Released

Rescued Bobcat Chips Returns to Natural Habitat

Chips the bobcat growled at the camera, as a wild bobcat should, shortly before being transported to her release site in Humboldt County (Photo courtesy Robert Campbell, volunteer and rehabilitation worker, Sierra Wildlife Rescue)

Chips the bobcat, who was only four weeks old when she was rescued last August by U.S. Forest Service firefighter Tad Hair and his Mad River Hand hotshot crew, is now 8 months old and back in bobcat territory in Lassen County, Calif.

Because of early human handling to treat her second-degree burns, rescuers initially thought Chips acted a little too friendly towards humans raising concerns that she could not survive in the wild.

But after officials at Sierra Wildlife Rescue in Placerville, Calif., raised her and another cub exclusively with other bobcats, both were judged by experienced wildlife rehabilitation experts as ready to go out on their own.

During those months of bobcat-only contact Chips became extremely cautious of any humans, emerging from her den only when no one was nearby. She continued to grow up eating, playing, wrestling and competing with her den mates, as a proper bobcat kitten should. Along with the others, she became very competent at chasing down her own food – live mice released in her den.

The Forest Service cautions all visitors to not interfere with nature. Leave injured animals, including young ones, alone. Often, an injured cub or other small animal has a mother nearby waiting for you to leave – or attack you if you don’t. So initially, Hair and his crew walked away from the bobcat after they found her in the aftermath of the Chips Fire. They didn’t find tracks for her mother, and they noticed her burn injuries including eyes she could barely open.

So the crew determined she would be rescued and named her Chips on the spot. She initially received treatment from Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and then was transferred to Sierra Wildlife Rescue.

Chips discovery and rehabilitation was a very unique case, nevertheless, the Forest Service reminds visitors:

Report injured wildlife to your state fish and wildlife department or the local sheriff’s office.
You are responsible for your safety and the safety of those around you. Help keep wildlife “wild” by not approaching or feeding them.
Alter your route so that you move away from animals without disturbing them. Do not block an animal’s line of travel.
Also, be aware of safety tips when dealing with animals that will attack if provoked, such as bears and mountain lions.

We’re happy you’re home, Chips!

Posted by Tiffany Holloway, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service, on April 30, 2013 at 10:00 AM

CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Tuesday, April 30, 2013