Mountain lion attacks horse near golf course

Colt injured severely, was euthanized

A colt was attacked by what appears to be a mountain lion on Snowshoe Road, near the Cabinet View Golf Club on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m.

“I received the call and gathered the hounds to track the cat,” Game Warden, Phil Kilbreath said.

Kilbreath began tracking the mountain lion around 8 p.m. and found no trace of the animal.

“The colt’s owner never saw the mountain lion either,” Kilbreath said. “Although from the looks of the injuries — puncture wounds and markings — they are consistent with attacks by mountain lions.”

When mountain lions begin attacking livestock Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA-FS) begin the work to track and trap the animal before it injures more livestock, Kilbreath said.

The colt was put down because the injuries from the attack were too extensive to save the animal.

Mountain lions customarily take down prey many times their own size. It is not unusual for a 100-pound mountain lion to kill a 400-pound elk. Lions silently stalk or ambush from behind.

For more information or to provide the agencies with information please call Tonya Chilton-Radandt, biologist with FWP at 293-4161 Ext. 209 or Phil Kilbreath at 291-6539.