We used to put a donkey with sheep in the pasture to keep coyotes away. The coyotes will usually run away from the donkey, but if one of them gets brave, the donkey will kill it, no questions asked! I don’t know if this lion story is true or not, but I can believe a grown mule(souped up donkey on steroids!!) could kill a mountain lion. One of my ancestors was also killed by a mule. One kick in the chest by a plow mule. The terms”kick like a mule” and “tough as a mule”came from the old time farmers that used them every day. Can be made into pets, But on thier terms. “ Stubborn as a mule!)
A girl that I work with raises miniature donkeys. They are pretty damn cute, as they only stand about 2.5 feet high.
One day, her neighbor's two full grown pit bulls attacked one of her cute little donkeys. Well....you know the outcome. Two dead pit bulls.