The High Desert Museum is raffling off the opportunity to name the newest addition to their museum — a juvenile bobcat.
The raffle will take place on August 26 during the High Desert Museum Rendezvous Fundraiser. Tickets to enter the raffle are on sale.
The museum asks that the name to be inspired by the High Desert, is respectful to the the animal and be appropriate to the museum’s audiences. The High Desert Museum also says it always reserves the right to approve the bobcat’s name.
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High Desert Museum was given the bobcat last October after multiple people found him near Portland without his mother. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that it would be unlikely he would be able to reunite with his mother and brought the kitten to the High Desert Museum.
The bobcat now weighs around 19 pounds and wildlife experts say it will take nearly a year before the bobcat reaches its full size of 20-25 pounds. For now, the juvenile still sees many visitors in an atrium habitat in the museum.
“The bobcat quickly became a visitor favorite at the Museum,” Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw said. “While bobcats are well-established in the region, it’s rare to see one, especially so close. So this bobcat presents a unique opportunity for visitors to connect with an important predator of the High Desert.”
