Malcolm's Story

In April 2024, Wildcare Foundation Oklahoma, a wildlife rehabilitation facility, contacted Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) regarding a bobcat that needed rescue. The Refuge has worked with this organization before when they called us in 2021 to find a forever home for Jake, an African Serval.

Local Oklahoma residents discovered Malcolm and his two siblings, assuming their mother had abandoned them. Believing they were helping, they took the bobcat kittens home and attempted to nurse them back to health. This is a common issue with young wildlife, as mothers are often out searching for food and have not actually abandoned their offspring. Unfortunately, Malcolm’s two siblings did not survive, prompting the residents to bring him to the licensed wildlife rehabilitators at WildCare Foundation Oklahoma.

At first, their team attempted to rehabilitate Malcolm and prepare him for release into the wild. They limited human contact, blind-feeding the kitten and teaching him to hunt live prey. They also housed Malcolm with another adult bobcat, hoping he would learn to behave more like a wild bobcat. Unfortunately, Malcollm failed every test and was determined unreleaseable. Wildcare Foundation Oklahoma then called TCWR to provide him a permanent home in captivity, where he will spend the rest of his days safely, living as close as possible to how nature intended.

Malcolm loves people and approaches them with friendly “cooing” sounds that bobcats make when interacting with familiar individuals. He is highly interactive, which is unique compared to other bobcats at the Refuge. He loves to play with his neighbors and his keepers. Malcolm is adventurous and will spend the rest of his days at the Refuge, living as close as possible to nature.