We had quite a surprising experience during this field trip which took place in central Wyoming near Twin Creek. We had two dogs at the time-- Trooper and Sarah, and they both loved to accompany me on my field trips into the desert and mountains.
I had been photographing this rock formation when Sarah (an Australian Healer) became aware of something a short distance away. I did not realize it at the time, but we were heading in the direction of a deer carcass which had been left behind by hunters.
Suddenly, there was a major commotion and Sarah and Trooper were both in hot pursuit of what turned out to be a mountain lion which had been feeding on the remains of the deer. Needless to say, it took me totally by surprise. Now for the big shocker! That lion headed straight for the rock formation to our left, and with Sarah and Trooper in hot pursuit, it quickly climbed the side of that cliff and disappeared over the top.
There were two frustrated dogs left standing with their tongues hanging out, and one guy who was left holding a camera while in total awe at what had just taken place. This was my first of two lion experiences following our move from Virginia to Lander, Wyoming.
A year or so following this experience, my wife and I had witnessed a chase by a lion while sitting in our canoe in the middle of Frye lake during a camping trip into the Wind River high country.
It was a quiet morning and we heard a disturbance in the distance. A large doe was crying out as she was being chased by a mountain lion. We watched part of the chase as the deer and lion disappeared over the top of a nearby hill. Then, much to our surprise, a large buck came up from the rear in hot pursuit of the doe and lion.
I had more than one person tell me that they had lived in Wyoming all their lives and had never seen a lion; let alone have an experience such as we witnessed. And yep, this is how it happened, and I thought it would make a good story. This desert scape just brought back a couple of memorable experiences.
To view a larger image, left click on the photograph above.
Keep going! This blog just left me with a whole mess of empty white space.
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