A mountain lion eats an elk

We live in glorious and beautiful mountains that we share with a variety of wildlife. Some are big predators who can hurt our dogs so we work hard at training them so that we can keep them as safe as possible.

More than a month ago, a mountain lion killed a young bull elk in our forest. When I first saw the carcass, I thought that the lion was finished with it and had moved on. The carcass was gutted. Meat only remained on the neck, head, and legs. On the first night and following morning, coyotes feasted on it, seemingly proving me right that the mountain lion had moved onto more hunting.

It turned out that I was very wrong. A mountain lion arrived on the scene soon thereafter. I don't know whether it was the same lion as originally killed the elk.

My trail camera emits a soft red glow when taking photos, and the lion noticed it right away. These two photos are in rapid succession.

After checking out the camera, the mountain lion started working on the area of the carcass with the most meat remaining - the head and neck.

He'd occasionally stop and look at the camera.

I think that after the photo above, he decided to move the carcass away from the crazy glowing camera. First, he pulled backward.

Then he gazed into the distance, perhaps planning his route.

More pulling...

A hard look at the camera again...

Look at that strong body he has...

Finally, he got serious, and he picked up the head.

...only to drop it again, and then try to dislodge the carcass from its spot with his front limb. I bet the carcass was frozen to the ground.

More pulling...

And then he passed directly in front of the camera, dragging the carcass. This is the lion's fur.

Almost an hour later, the mountain lion returned to where the carcass had been before he moved it and licked his chops for the camera.

Then, a long time later, a bobcat investigated the spot where the carcass had been. Doesn't he look tiny compared to that mountain lion?

That whole scene explains why our Duo doesn't wander around by themselves and why we expend energy training them. Of course, nothing can totally protect them from ferocious predators but we try to strike a balance between giving them a fun life and keeping them safe.

Fortunately, I wrote this post a while ago... because, with my new medicines and lots of rest, I've managed to evade the evil migraine monster for two days (so I'm taking it easy again today, trying to keep it at bay). Thanks for all of your support!