Two Mountain Lions Rescued From a Waterway in Colorado

It doesn't matter if cats are big or small, domesticated or wild, they somehow always end up in a bit of trouble. Especially at a young age. Two yearling Colorado mountain lions had to be rescued from a waterway this past Friday and the tale of how they were brought to safety was summed up in a slew of Tweets from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The saga of the rescue took place over a total of a dozen tweets from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Along with the play-by-play Tweets, there were a lot of photos and videos of the rescue of the pair of mountain lions.

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The two yearling mountain lions were stuck and couldn't get out of the spillway at Vallecito Reservoir in southwestern Colorado. You could just tell by the looks on the pair's face, they were not happy about being stuck. Luckily for the duo, Pine River Irrigation District Dam Tender, Mike Canterbury, noticed the pair stuck in the waterway before releasing water from Vallecito Reservoir.

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The release of water into the spillway could have easily drowned the two young mountain lions. Canterbury contacted Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Officer Ty Smith responded to the call. Before opting to dart the young mountain lions, Smith dangled a rope over the side of the walls in hopes that baby big cats would grab onto it and one did.

The first mountain lion held onto the rope to the top and as soon as it was possible, scurried off into the woods nearby. The other yearling mountain lion was not so keen on clawing onto the rope to safety. Officer Smith then climbed down the spillway on a ladder in search of a way to free the mountain lion. Utilizing the rope and a catch pole, Officer Smith was able to secure the mountain lion with a catch pole to release the mischievous mountain lion over the spillway wall.

The rescue of the mountain lion doesn't end there

The saga of the big cat rescue doesn't end there. As soon as Officer Smith was able to free the second big cat from the catch pole, the mountain lion decided to run under one of the trucks and hide. Those who were assisting in the rescue of the mountain lions backed off and let the mountain lion regain its composure under the vehicle. Not long after, the mountain lion took off in the same direction as its sibling. What a wild story for these two Colorado mountain lions.

See the events unfold in the Twitter thread from Colorado Parks and Wildlife below.