A
Anonymous
We're in northeastern Utah, near the Wyoming and Colorado borders. We definitely live in lion country. The hills just above our house where we ride horseback are rocky, with caves and outcroppings. I always ride armed.
A few years back a Utah ranchhand was attacked by a lion while he was on horseback. Reader's Digest printed the story, if any of you happen to recall. My husband talked to him a few days after the attack. The Digest version was a little off, but close enough. Donnie had carried a gun for 40 years, but had quit carrying a couple of years before the attack. He's carrying again.
On May 19 of this year a Quarterhorse foal was killed just 3 miles north of us. I have graphic photos of the aftermath. If any dogooder enviros want to see them, I'd be glad to share. They're quite gruesome. One mare in the pasture happened to have shoes on. We think she chased the lion away after it killed & partially consumed another mare's foal. The mare with shoes was very pregnant and had claw marks on her rump and face. She foaled the next morning.
About 5 years ago a full grown female was seen crossing the fence next to our house and headed off through a cornfield across the road. We were calving in corrals near the house. I do night checks and I did them all with a rifle or a pistol in my hand for the rest of the season.
Coyotes are a problem here, too, and I hear them every night. Livestock owners pretty well keep them in check, especially when they start getting too numerous and attacking calves and sheep.
Wolves are now moving down from Wyoming. We are essentially in the foothills of the east-west range of mountains between us and Wyoming. Wolves have been seen for some time in those mountains, but DNR always claims they must be wolf hybrids. Only this year did they finally admit one of the wolves from a Yellowstone pack had been near Logan, UT. We're 5 hours from there by road, but they are in our mountains, too.
I don't advocate jumping out of your car and randomly shooting at a lion, but I do plan and am prepared when out where I might encounter one.
When I lived in Montana, I was in the mountains for a drive one day and came across a cougar drinking from a rock waterhole. It was the most magnificent sight I've ever had the privilege to behold. But, then I was safely in my vehicle . . .
A few years back a Utah ranchhand was attacked by a lion while he was on horseback. Reader's Digest printed the story, if any of you happen to recall. My husband talked to him a few days after the attack. The Digest version was a little off, but close enough. Donnie had carried a gun for 40 years, but had quit carrying a couple of years before the attack. He's carrying again.
On May 19 of this year a Quarterhorse foal was killed just 3 miles north of us. I have graphic photos of the aftermath. If any dogooder enviros want to see them, I'd be glad to share. They're quite gruesome. One mare in the pasture happened to have shoes on. We think she chased the lion away after it killed & partially consumed another mare's foal. The mare with shoes was very pregnant and had claw marks on her rump and face. She foaled the next morning.
About 5 years ago a full grown female was seen crossing the fence next to our house and headed off through a cornfield across the road. We were calving in corrals near the house. I do night checks and I did them all with a rifle or a pistol in my hand for the rest of the season.
Coyotes are a problem here, too, and I hear them every night. Livestock owners pretty well keep them in check, especially when they start getting too numerous and attacking calves and sheep.
Wolves are now moving down from Wyoming. We are essentially in the foothills of the east-west range of mountains between us and Wyoming. Wolves have been seen for some time in those mountains, but DNR always claims they must be wolf hybrids. Only this year did they finally admit one of the wolves from a Yellowstone pack had been near Logan, UT. We're 5 hours from there by road, but they are in our mountains, too.
I don't advocate jumping out of your car and randomly shooting at a lion, but I do plan and am prepared when out where I might encounter one.
When I lived in Montana, I was in the mountains for a drive one day and came across a cougar drinking from a rock waterhole. It was the most magnificent sight I've ever had the privilege to behold. But, then I was safely in my vehicle . . .
