Posted on 03/06/2010 5:32:06 AM PST by JoeProBono
Salida, CO - Fox31 KDVR reports of a dramatic mountain lion encounter on Thursday afternoon in Chaffee County.
Around 4 pm, a malnourished mountain lion chased a small dog into the home of Michele Bese and her two young children. The lion entered the home through a doggie door leading to the outside yard.
When the lion first entered the home, Michele was unable to tell if it was a coyote or a mountain lion. She made the mountain lion determination after one of her 5 dogs confronted the animal.
Michele was able to secure her children in a bedroom and dial 911. Deputies arrived to the house and were able to get Michele and her children out through a window.
Meanwhile, officials attempted to lure the mountain lion out of the home. When the lion would not leave, wildlife authorities shot it with a tranquilizer gun.
A search of the house turned up 4 of the 5 family dogs. Those 4 dogs were transported to a veterinary clinic where one died from wounds sustained from the mountain lion encounter. Two other dog suffered serious injuries. A secondary search of the family home turned up the 5th dog who had been hiding.
Authorities eventually ended up euthanizing the mountain lion. The young male weighed only 40 lbs, significantly under the 60 lbs that a lion of his age should weigh. Perhaps his hunger is what lead him to make such a bold move into a house full of people and dogs.
Pet owners in rural areas, or those living in developments which border greenbelts or other forested lands should take note from this traumatic story. Housing developments are spilling over into wildlife areas, pushing the animals into smaller and smaller spaces. Human/wildlife encounters are on the rise.
A local Western Washington news station reported just this morning about the high number of coyotes in the greater Seattle area. Encounters with the coyotes are on the rise. Several stories have also been reported in the past year about the increase of raccoons in neighborhood yards.
As the line between natural, wildlife areas continues to blur with residential housing areas, pet owners will need to become more vigilant. Cats and small dogs left unattended in yards are easy prey to a hungry coyote, mountain lion, or even raccoon.
Dog-doors are wonderful for allowing in/out privileges to pets, but owners should be aware that wildlife can enter the home too. You can purchase electronic dog-doors that open only for your pet(s) who are fitted with a special collar.
;-{)
Wow! What a lion!
It was not many years ago when you could order a shotgun through the mail and the USPS delivered it right to your door!
I understand this dog and will bet he/she is the smartest one in that pack.
Just fifteen or so years ago, I ordered a shotgun and it was shipped right to my front door. No federales paperwork back then. Long guns were not so heavily regulated. At present, you can orfder for home delivery every part of a modern firearm except the ‘receiver’, which has to come through a firearms dealer with federales license.
Solution: 12 ga pump
If you own a 1991 .45, you can order for home delivery an entire upper to convert your pistol into a carbine!
Make that a 1911! Need coffee ...
They have the outside yard in their home? Great writing, there!
Live in the southwest side of Colorado Springs, close to Cheyenne Mt. State Park and Pike National Forest. Coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions frequent the area and we’ve seen all three at one time or another ... coyotes being the most frequent. Domestic cats that prefer the outdoors and small unattended dogs disappear with alarming frequency. Posters on community bulletin boards with pictures of missing pets (have you seen our Fluffy?) are routine. Larger canines are less prone to attack ... but male mountain lions can easily go up to 125 lbs., with the largest one on record weighing 175 lbs..
Remington 870 Super Magnum Express.
;-)
Remember the mountain lion in Briargate a few years ago? It came through my backyard while our tourist/relatives were enjoying the hot tub. Never saw that hot tub empty so fast! LOL
“I unknowingly cut off the escape route for about a dozen wild / feral dogs...”
So how many of these did you ‘exterminate’?
I totally agree. ‘
I said on FR about a year or so ago that our town absolutely forbids the discharge of any fire arm. The result is that we now have coyotes. And the result of that is that we can’t let our cats out. Since we can’t let our cats out, we have rats. And since we have rats, every resident was forced to get a large tote in which to put the garbage. And no feeding birds.
What seems left out of the liberal's mantra is that at one time America was an agricultural and mining nation. In the 1800's before the westward expansion, the east was covered in farms. These were replaced by a forest now in its third generation. Where do they think those ghost towns in the west com from. Do they understand, people have been migrating to urban centers in the twentieth century?
Apparantly the mother does not believe in being armed in order to protect her children.
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