The dramatic rescue of two mountain lion cubs, which were stuck in a spillway moments before a dam opened, has been captured on video.
The dam forming the Vallecito Reservoir near Durango, Colorado, was about to be opened on April 19 when the Pine River Irrigation District (PRID) dam tender, Mike Canterbury, noticed the two cubs sheltering in the spillway, an X (formerly Twitter) post from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said.
Canterbury immediately notified officials at CPW. The walls of the spillway were so high that the young mountain lions had no hope of making it out on their own. A release of water from the dam would have drowned the cubs, so officials halted the operation to give wildlife officials a chance to save them.
Colorado is home to an estimated 3,000 to 7,000 mountain lions. It is not unusual to spot them in rural areas, but they sometimes encroach on human areas because of habitat degradation. It is not clear how young these cubs were, but the species usually become independent of their mother by 18 months.
At the start of the rescue, CPW District Wildlife Manager Ty Smith dangled a rope down into the spillway while he sat atop a ledge. The video shows one of the cubs gripping the end of the rope while Smith eases it up.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife/X
“The first mountain lion held onto the rope all the way to the top of the spillway barrier and quickly ran off into the woods,” CPW said in the X post. “The second lion, however, wouldn’t hold onto the rope and ran down the spillway all the way to where the Los Pinos River continues below the dam.”
The second cub then paced the edge of the water and huddled in the spillway corner.
“It settled in for a nervous bath while we pondered the next move to get the lion free. Hoping to avoid darting the animal, Smith climbed down the ladder into the spillway with the rope hoping to find a way to free the lion,” the CPW said.
“After a brief standoff, Officer Smith was able to get the lion interested in the rope. 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,” the CPW said.
Footage shows the young mountain lion suddenly becoming free of the rope and immediately seeking shelter under the truck. But not long afterward, when officers gave the cub some space, it emerged and took off in the same direction as the first mountain lion.
CPW thanked PRID Superintendent Ken Beck and Canterbury for spotting the young lions and delaying the dam release.
“What a Friday night!” the CPW said.
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