In 2012, a horrific 75,000 acre wildfire in the Plumas and Lassen national forests of Northern California nearly wiped out all wildlife in the region. While cleaning up and patrolling the north end of the wildfire known as Chips' devastation, crews found a baby female bobcat covered in soot and wandering alone along the side of a road. The kitten looked disoriented, confused and seemed to have impaired vision, likely due to the fire, said her rescuer. The baby appeared to be so young that her eyes just started to open and she seemed abandoned, lost and terrified.
With no signs of a mother or other bobcat's in sight, the kitten, named Chips after the fire, was brought to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, a wonderful organization that helps injured wildlife return to their natural habitat. There, Chips set out on a long road to recovery, where instead of being domesticated, she learned life skills to help her survive in the wild. In this video, we see Chips finally return to the wild at 8 months old. Conservationists say that she grew up in a den playing with other bobcats and competing with her den mates, as any wild bobcat should. Chips' story is a rare one, but I am so happy this little angel was saved!
If you just fell in love with baby Chips and you want to show you're happy she has returned to her true home in the wild, SHARE this video!
