Kyle Kirk, the zoo manager in Marshfield, introduced Elsa, a 9-month-old bobcat, and described how staff are caring for her and considering her future role in outreach programs.

Kirk said Elsa was found as a newborn in Lower Michigan, raised by a rehabilitator and transferred to Wildwood. Staff described her as unusually tame for a bobcat but emphasized she remains a wild animal and will be managed with health and safety precautions.

"Hello my name is Kyle Kirk. I am the zoo manager here in Marshfield. I've been here for about 5 months and I'm I love my job. So this is our newest addition, Elsa the bobcat. She's right around 9 months old," Kirk said. He said Elsa "she she is originally from Lower Michigan, and a couple, found her in the woods before her eyes were open when she was only a day or 2 old. And, they took her home and assumed that she was a domesticated cat." Kirk recounted that, when owners took the animal to a veterinarian, "the vet was like, that's a bobcat. So obviously, they the she was turned over to the DNR, and then she was raised by a rehabber."

Staff reported Elsa weighs about 20 pounds and is roughly half-grown; they estimate her adult weight will be about 40 to 45 pounds. Kirk noted health precautions: "Cats are susceptible to things like pneumonia, so we try to keep her time when in the soggy mess to a minimum." He said when she is not visible in the exhibit she is usually behind-the-scenes.

If Elsa remains unusually tame, staff said they would pursue harness training so she could serve as an ambassador for education visits to schools. Kirk observed that the zoo has an opportunity to house a lynx and a bobcat together for comparison: "Lynx and bobcats are very similar in their design and their build, they're really the same animal just a different eco type ... In the past, they've always ran a lynx and a bobcat together, with very with very little difficulty. They they seem to do really well together and personally, I like to see the comparison between the bobcat and the lynx standing right next to each other."

Kirk also explained the name choice: "We thought Elsa really fit her fit her because she's our little ice queen and, soon she'll have her own little Olaf, but that'll come later." The zoo did not announce any formal program start dates, funding details or public-event schedule.

No formal board actions or votes were recorded in the transcript regarding Elsa's arrival or care; the remarks in the record were presentation and discussion by zoo staff.