A COUGAR or COUGARS killed a yearling whitetail buck the night of February 28, 2016, about 80 yards west of my brother’s house in western Montana. His dog, Molly, found the stash late the next day as Lee and Molly went for a walk out their long driveway.
Whatever cat scent was present bothered Molly very little. “She was cautious but just eased into the brush where the deer was partially covered with leaves,” Lee, said, “and she sniffed all around. No hair stood up on her back, or anything like that.”
Lee set the trail camera that evening.
“The lions came in that night (second night after the kill) and ate most of the remaining meat.,” he said. “They had eaten only a small amount the night they killed the deer.”
These pictures were taken over a four-hour period from about midnight to four a.m. Evidently, the lions would eat a while, lay down back in the brush to rest and digest, then come back and eat more.
Cougar Eyeball
“At the end of the four hours, they apparently had had enough of their picture being taken and tore down the camera,” Lee said. “Since the camera was down, I don’t know if they came back after that.
“The lion that tore down the camera messed around with it enough that both latches opened. It must have kept pawing it, much like a cat plays with a mouse.”
Cougar Tail
Cougar Feeding
Stashed Kill
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