BY HANNES THUM
There are some critters that live in this Valley that are elusive enough that people (almost) forget about them. We know, at least in the backs of our heads, that they are around, of course. But, if a person can go months or even years without seeing a mountain lion, he or she might be led to omit from daily thought that they are very near and very present neighbors of ours.
Then, as we have lately seen, a mountain lion ends up in somebody’s yard, with a picture in the newspaper or a photo online. The news spreads and suddenly one (or more) of these animals is the talk of the town.
I swear I couldn’t swing a stick in town last week without hitting somebody who had recently seen a big cat in their yard or who knew somebody who had seen one. Stories about a deer killed on their street. About mountain lions in their trees, about mountain lions in their garages, about mountain lions on their porches. A mountain lion killed a dog in Warm Springs, and the mountain lion itself was killed the next day. People keep telling me about sightings of multiple mountain lions traveling together.
Suddenly, it’s like the cats were here all along.
For the most part, folks seem to enjoy these interactions as long as no animals get hurt, although there is also a lot of talk going around about people being scared of the cats.
Of course, they have been here all along. It’s just that, for the most part, members of the Felidae family (felines and mountain lions and bobcats and their ilk) want nothing to do with us, and they succeed in keeping a low profile for most of the year. They might appreciate the way we plow the roads in winter to make for easy travel (one of the reasons why they will pass through our neighborhoods), sure. And they certainly are aware that there are some food sources in our backyards (including, but not limited to, our domestic pets and the wild deer and elk that also use the Valley floor in the winter). But, these are mainly just the results of snow getting deeper in the mountains and conditions down in town becoming more tempting.
Mountain lions have no real reason to want to come into contact with humans and they certainly have a lot of reasons not to. Close encounters between mountain lions and humans, very often, result in the death of the cat.
As the snow begins to melt in the coming month or two, the big cats will return to the hills. And, likely, most of us will see no sign of them until next winter. Until then, humans and felines alike will take our winter relationship one day at a time. I’m sure there will be more stories about them before this winter is over.
Hannes Thum is a Wood River Valley native and has spent most of his life exploring what our local ecosystems have to offer. He currently teaches science at Sun Valley Community School.