Help Name the Mountain Lion Cub at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Courtesy of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

We hope you’ll join the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in welcoming their newest addition: a five-and-a-half-month-old mountain lion cub. The little guy was rescued and nursed back to health by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; but because he was unsuitable for reintroduction into the wild, his adoption by the Desert Museum was arranged through the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Once the cub was in good health suitable for transport, California departmental agents traveled nine hours to rendezvous with Desert Museum staff in Blythe, California,” said Shawnee Riplog-Peterson, the museum’s curator of mammalogy and ornithology. “After arrival at the Museum, the cub was quarantined in the exhibit’s night-holding area at which time veterinarians and keepers monitored its well-being and began training efforts.”

Known scientifically as Puma concolor, mountain lions (a.k.a. pumas or cougars) are the largest of the small cats. Even though they are referred to as lions, they lack the ability to roar. They are consummate predators, with a small head, muscular body, powerful shoulders, strong legs, large paws and a long tail. Cougars have powerful claws and jaws armed with impressive canines. They are stalking, ambush hunters that normally live solitary lives.

Now that this little guy is home and in good health, the museum needs your help. This cub needs a name and you’re invited to enter the naming contest at www.desertmuseum.org. The winner will receive a special gift from the mountain lion and a family membership to the Desert Museum. The winning name will be announced at a special naming celebration on July 6.

OK, to help you come up with a suitable name for this fella, below are some details about this cute cat:

Sex: Male
Age: 5 1/2 months
Rescued: March 9 in San Jose, CA
Rescue Weight: 15 pounds
Current Weight: 51.5 pounds
Current Length: 37.5 inches (not including the tail)
Current Paw Size: 4 3/4 inches
Favorite Food: Goat’s milk
Favorite Activities: Chasing rock squirrels and lazing in the shade

Friday Fotos: Time to Hike Arizona’s Many Wonderful Trails

Doug Koepsel | Lockett Meadow, SF Peaks

In honor of our June Summer Hiking Guide, which features 10 of our favorite places to hit the trail, we asked you to share your photographs of life on the trail. Thanks to everyone who posted photos on Facebook. Once again, we have another fantastic gallery featuring Arizona’s beautiful landscape.

Keep posting, and we hope you’ll share this week’s gallery with your favorite peeps.

Enjoy!

Dave Anderson | Mt. Baldy, White Mountains

Edward Doran | Sabino Canyon

Doug Koepsel | Lockett Meadow, SF Peaks

Nina Schulz | Bisbee

Deanna Bailey | Clear Creek

Nathaniel Smalley | Wet Beaver Creek Trail

Sharon Joubert | Kachina Trail

JT Dudrow | Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest

Jamie Thomas | Snowbowl

Rebecca Hewitt | Deer Creek Trail, GC

JT Dudrow | Tortilla Trail in Superstitions

Monika Ragland | Mt. Graham

Randy Gibson | Humphrey’s Peak Trail

Tom White | Court House Rock

Ron Pelton Jr | Lockett Meadow

Maureen Isree | Snowbowl

Jody M. Tanner | West Fork, Oak Creek Canyon

Jeff Maltzman | West Fork Trail

Monika Ragland | Mt. Graham

Debbie Filleman Detherage | Wet Canyon

Reid Helms | Blue Mesa Trail

Bob Miller | West Fork

Sarah Dolliver | Sedona

Jag Fergus | Trail 308, Granite Mountain Wilderness

Casey Stanford | Trail #2, Usery Mountain Regional Park

Jon Matthies| Weatherford Trail, SF Peaks

Dean Andersen | Grand Canyon

Gill Couto | Arizona Trail

Joel Rivera | Lost Dutchman State Park

Reid Helms | Inner Basin Trail, SF Peaks

Doug Koepsel | West Fork, Oak Creek

Maureen Isree | Flagstaff

Casey Stanford | Tail #1, Superstitions

Dean Andersen | Near Phantom Ranch, GC

Brian Hudson Productions | Grand Canyon Trail

Who’s Got the Best Pizza in Arizona? Take Our Poll!

Friday Fotos: Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever!

Tim Van Den Berg | Tucson

We sure love babies here at Arizona Highways… and in honor of Mother’s Day, this week’s theme is all about baby wildlife (and, in some cases, their mamas, too). As usual, we received several fantastic photographs — thanks to everyone who posted images to our Facebook page.

We hope you’ll share this week’s blog with your friends and family on social media.
Happy Mother’s Day!

Gary Smith | PHX

Jody M. Tanner

Sandy Klewicki | Scottsdale

Sandy Klewicki | Scottsdale

Kathleen Reeder | Camp Verde

Ruth Jolly | Gilbert

Gill Couto | N. PHX

Tammy Simpkins | Hereford

Wendy Dunham | Tucson

Tim Johnson | Glendale

Deb Saunders | Tonto National Forest

Jag Fergus | Prescott

Jack Partin | Williams

Peggy Coleman | PHX

Pete Moulton | PHX

Jackie Klieger | Sedona

Deb Saunders | Tonto National Forest

Andrew Kopolow | Camp Verde

Heavenly Images by Debbie Angel | PHX

Tim Van Den Berg | Tucson

Kathleen Reeder | Litchfield Park

Monika Ragland | Riggs Lake

Jackie Klieger | Camp Verde

Gary Smith | DBG

Peggy Coleman | PHX

Eric Rosen | PHX

Jay Beckman | PHX

Feather Focus Photography | Grand Canyon

Jeremiah Jones | DBG

Tam Ryan | Williams

Jay Beckman | Grand Canyon

Jim Peterson | Sedona

Susan Kordish | Skull Valley

Deanna Bailey | Happy Jack

 

Help Support the Town of Crown King Tomorrow!

Save the date: Tomorrow, Saturday, May 11, the historic mining town of Crown King will host a festival to help raise money for road repairs. Last year, the Gladiator Fire burned more than 16,000 acres; then, complicating matters, monsoon storms caused mudslides and rockslides. Saturday’s event will feature live entertainment, food, a kids area and a beer garden.

Melinda Ripley, the president of the Crown King Chamber of Commerce, talked to Arizona Highways about tomorrow’s festival and why Crown King needs your help.

Tell me about this Saturday’s festival. What’s going on?
We will be raising funds during this event for several different organizations. Some of the funds will be given to the Crown King Chamber of Commerce for our Community Improvement Project. We are currently selling raffle tickets to give away a “gold nugget.” The funds from this will go to improve the downtown Crown King area. We are planning to purchase many loads of Agra-Soil to cover the main road in town. This will help take care of the boulders and such that are making our street rough. Crown King is an unincorporated town; therefore, we do not get county or state help to maintain the roads inside our community. Once we can obtain the needed amount to replace the soil, we are planning to place old-fashioned, wrought-iron, solar-powered lamp posts throughout the area as well. It will be a beautiful project when we can complete it.

We have also started a “Crown King Kids Corral.” This is an area that we are planning to have during our bigger events dedicated to the children. They can make crafts and play games that are related to the current event. For instance, this weekend, we will be making paper-plate tamborines, wind chimes (out of Dixie cups and straws and bells) and a coloring contest. (Per the request of our children, they “want to know who the winner is THAT day and want candy as a prize!”) We plan to carry this idea out throughout the year. Funds donated from this area will remain in a separate envelope to replenish our supplies used. We have had a tremendous outpouring from some community members that have donated yarn, buttons, gluesticks, etc. We are very excited to offer something for the children to do when they visit Crown King.

What will you do with the funds raised?
A portion of some food sales will go directly to the Chamber of Commerce for continued advertising and permit costs.

How has business been since last year’s fire, and how can people help?
Business has been extremely slow for the merchants following the fire and rain last year. It was a rough winter for them. However, we have tried to come together and plan numerous fun events for the remainder of this year and will continue on next year! We have really tried to pump our marketing and utilize Facebook, radio stations, news stations, publications and any other venue of advertising that we can reach. We have started Facebook pages for all our businesses; this has really helped, as Facebook seems to spread very quickly.

We are currently seeking volunteers to set a table up at the event with donation buckets that list all of our nonprofit organizations: the Crown King Fire Department, our churches, our American Legion, our Crown King Road Association, our Forest Service Department, and obviously our Historical Society. We also have a Crown King Community Association that tries to focus on individual needs for those who live in the community. We also have an Americorps group that works in Crown King during the busy wildfire months. We have one of the only remaining one-room schoolhouses. I think 11 remain in the U.S. We currently have three students.

So people know once and for all, is Crown King open for business?
Crown King is definitely open for business! We welcome all those to come see our very historical and beautiful little hideaway! It is one of the most untouched pieces of America’s history that we are so very hard trying to keep.

 

Sneak Peek: Meet Our November People Profile

I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing this young woman for our November people profile. She’s fantastic, and I think you’re going to love learning more about her muddy line of work and why she absolutely loves her job.

—Kathy Ritchie, Sr. Associate Editor