The night I saw the mountain lion I saw her eyeshine first And then her head And then her frame Then something that was worse
Her stance was over-rigid She was wound and set to spring Her eyes were locked upon me And I was everything
My light shone bright upon her I knew to make a stand But when she took three rapid steps My mind and body ran
I knew the terrain well ‘Twas my backyard, after all I gained the bush and then the fence And prayed I wouldn’t fall
I clamored to my wife and son I burst into the house I gushed about how cool it was Though I acted like a mouse
I’m ashamed of my behavior I wasn’t at my best But if living’s how we’re measured I think I passed the test
J. Commander (Bub’s Dad)
Near-Contact with Mountain Lion on 26 September 2022 in Trinidad, CA
This article appears in ‘Unbelievable’.
I was driving to our front gate on Cypress Mountain in the 1980’s and a young mountain lion leaped down onto the road from the left right in front of my Subaru, crossed and disappeared down the hill on the right. I jumped out with my Nikon in my hand hoping to get a photo of it’s butt as it leaped down the hillside. However it had not fled but was crouched behind a large thistle plant right at my driveways edge. It leapt out into the air to get away down the hill and I simultaneously leaped over the hood of the car like a movie detective. I didn’t get a picture. I vowed to not turn tail and run next time. But all the times after that were from a hundred and more yards away.