The Official Houston Zoo Blog

On a cool rainy day in early December 2001 a young male cougar named Rocky arrived at the Houston Zoo.

Rocky the Cougar, 1995 – 2011

The carnivore keepers and the Zoo veterinarians who would care for Rocky the rest of his life knew little if anything about him. They didn’t know when or where he was born or much of anything about his life at his previous home, a suburban back yard in North Harris County. Rocky had been surrendered by his owner along with another young cougar named Martha.

But Rocky’s care team knew one thing – Rocky had attitude. If he didn’t like something or someone he would walk away and sit and glare, slowly twitching the end of his tail back and forth.

But over time, Rocky began to slowly mellow.

A handsome portrait of Rocky will be included in a photo essay in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine highlighting the National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative.

His keepers learned that he liked perfume. Houston Zoo keepers utilize scents as enrichment for all the carnivores in their care but Rocky was especially taken with bold scents. If it was stinky, Rocky loved it.

And Rocky liked to play with paper. Well, maybe play isn’t the right word – more like shred it into a storm of tiny bits and scatter it about his bedroom.

But what Rocky really enjoyed was painting. In the holding area behind his exhibit, keepers would put paint on a canvas and slide a portion of it toward him, the keepers safely on the other side of the containment screen. Then Rocky would rub the paint on the canvas with his paws. When he let his keepers know he was finished, the task then was to get the canvas back so another part of it could be painted. A few of Rocky’s masterpieces were returned with a bite out of one corner.

Not long after Rocky’s exhibit mate Martha passed away, he was introduced to a young cougar named Haley. Keepers were reticent to introduce one so young to a male of advanced age. But the introduction went well and the new arrival put the spring back in Rocky’s step.

The keepers and his veterinarians who lovingly cared for Rocky and the thousands of Zoo guests and staff who were awed by his presence during his time with us will never forget him.

But over the past year Rocky’s veterinarians determined that his kidneys were not functioning efficiently. He was losing weight and losing interest in food. On Monday, October 31 his care team, his keepers and his veterinarians made the difficult decision to euthanize Rocky.

The keepers and his veterinarians who lovingly cared for Rocky and the thousands of Zoo guests and staff who were awed by his presence during his time with us will never forget him.

A handsome portrait of Rocky will be included in a photo essay in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine highlighting the National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative.