ShreyaTree-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.
To Help Or Not To Help
The cougar’s demeanor was not very welcoming. It saw the men as threats and did not shy away from warning them to keep their distance by snarling at them time and again as the video shows. This left the men in a dilemma, would it be such a sane idea to put their lives in danger for an animal who would have attacked them in their attempt to relieve it or the moment they set it free. However, they could also see that behind all that brave face, the cougar was in pain and their duty called for them to free this wild animal whose species’ number is on a decline.
But… How?
On the video, the men can be seen discussing their plan of rescue. Meanwhile, the mountain lion grew more suspicious and alerted towards them. It could not guess that these men were there to help it and it did all it could to stall their attempts. The men had to be cautious, it was already dusk and night was about to come and if they had any chance of escaping from this wildcat it would be only in light. The men decided to make do with the rescue material they had and they decided not to use any tranquilizers which made the task harder than it had to be.
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. In the next slide, she can actually be HEARD snarling at them.
Beware, Aliens!!
As can be heard (turn on the sound icon on the gif) in the gif, the wildcat is clearly untrustworthy of the men approaching her. She is agitated and alert, ready to pounce on the men. The trained men were wary and aware of the danger they put themselves in and prepared for it, or so they thought. For the cougar, these were aliens who in its mind, were attacking it. They knew the cougar would put up a fight and that is why they come equipped with the catch-pole but they were not prepared for what the cougar did in its agitation next.
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. So much so that something happened which put the men in danger even more and all of it is caught on the video in the next slides.