The newest member of the animal family at Rolling Hills Zoo is now in her habitat. Bexookee, pronounced Bay-u-key or Bex for short, is the new cat in town making its home at the zoo.

Bexookee is an Arapahoe Indian name for mountain lion or cougar.

Bex arrived back in October from Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Following a mandatory quarantine, Bex is now in her new habitat, joining male cougar Charlie Bear.

Born in the wild of Wyoming, Bex was orphaned at an early age and rescued by the Wyoming Fish & Game Department.  With an approximate birth date of October 1, 2006, the best guess is that she was about 2 months old when she arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Bex enjoys being up high, so she is sure to enjoy the new platform recently built in the cougar exhibit. She is very smart and trains well when she is ready.

Also 12 years old, the zoo’s male cougar, Charlie Bear, has been at Rolling Hills Zoo for the past ten years and weighs in just over 160 lbs., significantly larger than Bex, who weighs in at 101 lbs., the average size of a female cougar.