A dam operator named Mike Canterbury was about to release water into a Colorado dam’s spillway when he spotted something furry moving below him. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there were two yearling mountain lions huddled together at the bottom of the spillway’s 50-foot concrete wall.
After everyone backed off and it took time to regroup, the young lion ran off in the same direction as its sibling.
We thank Beck and Canterbury for delaying the dam release and reporting this to give CPW a chance to rescue them.
What a Friday night! pic.twitter.com/mCxHj7jCOI
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) April 22, 2024
If Canterbury had gone ahead and released the water, the mountain lions would have drowned. So he decided to call Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to come help.
When the team from Colorado Parks and Wildlife arrived, they tried to create a ramp with some boards so the mountain lions could climb out on their own. But they didn’t seem interested in the boards, so the rescuers quickly came up with another idea to try.
They found a piece of rope lying around and figured that since cats love playing with string, maybe mountain lions would, too.
With the lion interested in the rope, CPW staff were also able to use a catch pole and all together we lifted the lion over the concrete wall and quickly released it. However, the lion decided to hide under a truck for a few minutes…. pic.twitter.com/wW3lyXCFDd
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) April 22, 2024
District Wildlife Manager Ty Smith dangled the rope down to see if it might entice the mountain lions. One of them was immediately intrigued by it. John Livingston, CPW’s Southwest Region public information officer, told The Dodo that the mountain lion “actually grabbed onto it with both paws … similar to what a kitten would do with string.”
“They’re such instinctual animals, I think it’s just part of their nature to see something [like rope] and play with it,” Livingston said.
Surprisingly, the mountain lion didn’t let go of the rope. The yearling held on tight as Smith hoisted them out of the spillway. Smith was sure to maneuver the rope in a way that didn’t put the cat at risk of falling.
Livingston said that the rescuers were “in a little bit of disbelief” that they were able to free the mountain lion using only a rope. As soon as the lion reached the top of the spillway, they ran off into the woods.
For the second mountain lion, the rescue process wasn’t quite as simple. The rescuers used the same rope to distract the lion, and then used a combination of a catch pole and the rope to hoist them up above the spillway.
After hiding under the rescuers’ truck to get their bearings for a bit, the second mountain lion joined their family in the woods.
Livingston explained that at their age, the mountain lions would still be sticking close to their mom. He thought it was likely that the young siblings and their mama would be reunited with each other in no time.
