A nerve-wracking scene unfolded as Colorado wildlife officials pulled all the stops to rescue two young mountain lions in the path of a deluge of trouble.
A worker at the Pine River Irrigation District Dam was about to release a large amount of water down a concrete spillway when he spotted the yearlings at the bottom of the steep wall.
According to posts on social media, he called the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to alert them about the animals’ presence, before releasing the water from Vallecito Reservoir near Durango.
The high walls of the spillway meant the mountain lions wouldn’t be able to get out on their own.
“A release of water likely would have drowned the two lions,” writes the CPW.
Officer Ty Smith responded and pondered possible solutions.
He grabbed a long rope and dangled it in front of the young mountain lions to see if they would grab onto it so he could lift them out.
The first mountain lion took the bait and held on, with legs dangling, as it was pulled to the top of the barrier—and quickly ran off into the woods.
“The second lion, however, wouldn’t hold onto the rope and ran down the spillway to where the Los Pinos River continues below the dam,” reported the Parks Officials.
“Unwilling to swim to reach the bank, the young lion continued to pace around at the water’s edge and moved into a corner of the spillway. Our wildlife officer climbed down a ladder into the spillway with the rope hoping to find a way to free the lion.
“With the lion interested in the rope, we were also able to use a catch pole and lift the lion over the concrete wall to quickly release it.”
Everyone knows how cats like string, and in this case, it saved one of their nine lives.
Watch the video below–and hold your breath…
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