Mountain Lion Relaxes Near Carey, Idaho

If you like wildlife spotting, Carey looks like a good place to get started.  A woman dropped me a line over the weekend and shared some pictures and a video.  These were posted by her daughter, Chantel Melo.  I asked Mom if she could ask her daughter for permission to post the images.  A short while later, Mom wrote back and said I could.

The thing that strikes me is how calm the mountain lion is.  Stretched out along a fence line and then trudging down the road as if clocking out for the day.  This video is of a moose trudging along what looks to be a ridgeline.  It also looks as if it’s in no hurry to get where it’s going.

The Lion Strolls Today

A couple of weeks ago, Terry Thompson from Idaho Fish and Game appeared on Magic Valley This Morning.  The program airs on Newsradio 96.1 and 1310 KLIX.  He explained we often don’t see wildlife but it sees us more than we realize.  The animals get as far south as Twin Falls where they use the canyons as a series of highways.

Give the Animals Some Room

He also advises keeping a good distance.  If the animal moves because of your presence, you’re likely too close.  You can see in these pictures and the video that the photographer zoomed in.  Good call!

Some of the snow totals in the high country are up to eight feet in depth.  The hooved creatures come down low to forage.  That attracts the lions.

Contact Idaho Fish and Game

I’m not sure what you would do, but if I were to see a big cat I would call the Fish and Game office in Jerome.  Just to give them a heads up about the location.  The number is 208-324-4359.