1/27/2005: Mule versus mountain lion

[Undertoad]

Promenea finds this very amazing series of a mule who took on a lion... and won. The reliability of the shots is not known. They don't look 'shopped to me.



From the text: These pics came from a guy in AZ. Yes, the mule killed the mountain lion. The lion had been stalking them for the better part of the morning, on the way out to a hunt. They were pretty sure it was after one of the dogs. The cat ambushed them, and the mule pictured tossed its rider and went into attack (defense) mode, the horses scattered and shots were fired but no one was sure if they hit the cat or not. Unfortunately, it wasn't until it was almost over that one of the guys started snapping pics. The mule finally stomped the cougar to death after biting and throwing it around like a rag doll. The dogs wouldn't even come close until the mule settled down.

But Snopes is uncertain on the case.

It's quite possible that, as often happens, the photographs are real, but someone has fabricated an inaccurate description to accompany them. For example, in the first picture the mountain lion appears to have a trap and/or chain fastened to one of its legs, and none of the photographs convincingly demonstrates that the big cat was alive at the time the pictures were taken.

[garnet]

I've heard that the cat was actually injured or trapped by hunters, who let then mule go loose on it (although the first picture looks 'shopped to me...). In the last photo in the series you can see two dogs that appear to be hunting dogs, so this would make sense. I can't imagine a mule "winning" in a bout with a healthy mountain lion--seems very unlikely.

[lookout123]

having seen a mountain lion take on a rattlesnake (what incredible speed and reflexes) and win i don't know if i'm buying the story here. those mountain lions are so fast that you actually have to watch in slow motion if you want to see them lash out with their claws. considering that it would be impossible for amule to slink up on the cat, i think this fine feline must have been injured first.

[staceyv]

I think I saw this in the WTF thread.

[capnhowdy]

"Down here" where I live, Nearly all of the farmers who raise cows have mules and burros (Ithink burros mainly) in the fences with their cattle. The cows and burros coexist perfectly. The burros are there for one reason.......to ward off & kill coyotes. (SP?)
I have seen coyotes while hunting, and I have seen them in action in a chicken yard. They are quite vicious and use a gang-type approach. I've never seen it, but the farmers say it is not unlikely for the burros to kill at least two coyotes each month.
Still, I think the coyotes in comparison to the animal in these images would be considered a lot less dangerous.
The mountain lion looks dead to me.
I'll have to go with Snopes on this one.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by staceyv

I think I saw this in the WTF thread.

You did

[capnhowdy]

Mule: offspring of a male ass and a female horse.

[mrnoodle]

I'm voting on the already-dead theory. That's definitely something man-made on the cat's leg. Plus, notice that the cat's claws are retracted, there's blood on its mouth (but no visible injuries to the mule), and the overall ragdoll body position. Also a possible small-caliber entry wound where the neck joins the chest.

In the second pic, the cat's not even looking at the mule. Plus, you can see the metallic thingy leaning up against it.

And the story doesn't jive. Lion hounds that won't come near a lion because there's a pissed mule? Pfft. You couldn't keep a dog out of that fight if Satan himself was in it.

Dead cat in a trap, they let the mule play with it for a photo op.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

they let the mule play with it for a photo op.

Or to train it for the real thing. I'd be more worried, as a mountain lion, about the mule than the man.

Gives the man the chance to run or grab a weapon maybe.

[puckhawg31]

the picture with the cougar in the mouth of the mule by the tail is obviously photoshopped. there is another picture (tried to attach it) of the mule and the reins are clearly visible. there are no reins in the "by the tail" picture.

[404Error]

Here's the 'by the tail' picture and the reins are right there. They're just looped from the horse's bit, behind the cat and then clearly visable over the the cat's stomach.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The 4 pictures I posted in the WTF thread that I linked above, were pretty fuzzy low quality images. They looked like frames from a movie film.
I played with them in photoshop quite a bit trying to clean them up. The "by the tail" picture that 404 posted, when I was working with the color saturation on that one, 4 or 5 red spots that could be bullet wounds showed up on the chest of the cat.

[Montmorency]

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

And the story doesn't jive. Lion hounds that won't come near a lion because there's a pissed mule? Pfft. You couldn't keep a dog out of that fight if Satan himself was in it.

I agree. Whoever originally published those images really should have edited the dogs out of the pic. There isn't enough sedatives in the world to make a dog sit after just witnessing a fight like that.



As cool as a story of a mule killing a cougar is.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The dogs might avoid the mule if they were already sure the lion was dead.
Welcome to the Cellar Montmorency.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The 4 pictures I posted in the WTF thread that I linked above, were pretty fuzzy low quality images. They looked like frames from a movie film.
I played with them in photoshop quite a bit trying to clean them up. The "by the tail" picture that 404 posted, when I was working with the color saturation on that one, 4 or 5 red spots that could be bullet wounds showed up on the chest of the cat.

Bruce is, once again, da man. Snopes has finally spoken.

"Real Pictures, Inaccurate Description."