A mountain lion kitten rescued after being found abandoned in Southern California earlier this year has undergone surgery to amputate one of his hind legs, Oakland Zoo officials announced.
The young cougar, named Crimson, underwent the procedure after months of treatment and efforts to protect an injured hind foot that was missing its toes, according to an Aug. 14 update from the zoo.
KTLA previously reported that Crimson was just three weeks old when wildlife officials rescued him from a den in the western Santa Monica Mountains near Thousand Oaks in March.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service and Los Angeles Zoo had been monitoring the kitten after researchers tracking his collared mother, P-129, noticed changes in her movements that suggested the den had been abandoned…