Creature Of The Wild

It was reported to the Division of Wildlife Resources that a full-grown mountain predator was spotted being trapped in the Mountains of the Pine Valley. Since it was a ferocious member of the cat family and full grown on top of that, unequipped and inexperienced people did not even dare to go near it. It also kept snarling at whoever neared it and was completed frustrated by now because it was not able to get out of the trap set by humans. That’s when Mark and another member came to the location fully equipped for any sort of danger.

Coug-arrrrrr

It was one of the ferocious member of the cat family, cougar, also known as the panther, mountain lion or puma (yes, this is where the brand name comes from) that got into trouble. It actually holds the Guinness record for being the animal with the largest number of names which keep changing depending on the region they are found in. Not a lot of animals prey on cougars apart from humans- they belong to the predator family and such is their demeanor and uphold in their natural habitat.

Tree-apped

The cougar got itself trapped in one of the bobcat traps set on a tree and could not get out, it had been struggling for quite some time now and was visibly pissed, as the video shows. Mark Ekins told KSL that even though he had previously carried out such rescue operations he was still nervous about this one as it was a fully developed and angry cougar. “If I wasn’t nervous or started to lack respect for the power of that animal, it could potentially be very dangerous,” said Mark. In the slides ahead, one can HEAR how intimidating the cougar was as well as unwelcoming of any sort of help.

Here Is The Plan

The officers planned to use a catch-pole to secure the cougar from the neck, so that it could not attack them and to observe minimum safety and they also secured its hind legs so that it does not hurt itself. When asked why they did not simply immobilize the creature, Mark said that using the pole was “more humane and a lot safer.” Moreover, there are chances that animals might not even wake up after being sedated once like humans do. However, the cougar was not aware of all the precautions being taken for its security and it grew fanatic as the men approached it.

Not Happy About Being Choker-ed

Mark managed to secure the cougar by its neck but it kept on trying to resist it. He realized that he could not do the task on his own so he asked his colleague to hold the catch- pole for him while he tried to free cougar’s paw from the trap. However, seeing two men tugging at its neck the cougar grew extremely agitated and started jumping around trying to free itself with all its might.

Estimating The Opponent

After it’s attack the cougar settled down, or so it seemed but what it did was set itself away from Mark as much as the trap chain allowed and put all its weight on the opposite direction, all the while assessing Mark cautiously. It appeared that the cougar was carefully planning its next move, next attack and waiting for Mark to make a single mistake. However, when Mark was asked about his calmness in an interview he said, “I guess I respect them enough, and I’ve done it enough, that I kind of know my abilities and their abilities.” They were at a loss at how to proceed without the cougar creating a problem, then they had an idea.

Blindsided

Mark’s crew member secured the hind foot of the cougar now so that it could not move a lot, and it worked. While in this position, Mark threw a blanket over the cougar’s face so that it could not see or place his attack while Mark tried to free him; the cougar resisted that too but Mark’s work was partially done, now all that had to be down was free the cougar’s paw from the trap and run for life. However, that is easier said than done. While Mark made his attempt to free the cougar, it was getting visibly pissed, they had to get out of their quickly.

Safety Check

It turned out that the cougar was just taking its time to build up enough energy and make sure that its surroundings were safe. The moment it realized that things were back to normal, it abandoned the blanket and made a run for it.