Colorado man is surprised with mountain lion visitor.
Most residents in western states are used to dealing with wildlife. Deer, elk, bears, moose, and more are often common visitors to the backyards of residents in states like Wyoming, Colorado, and Idaho. However, even people used to wildlife in their neighborhood can get understandably unnerved when things get a little too close for comfort.
Such was the case for Colorado resident Charles Zelenka back on January 5. He was woken up in the middle of the night to a surprising sight. A full-grown elk dying on his back porch. As if that was not surprising enough, there was an additional visitor on the scene.
He captured video which shows a large mountain lion that seems to be claiming credit for the kill here. Check out the video below to see the big cat, splashed with blood from the fresh kill.
We can only imagine what was going through Zelenka's mind after hearing a bump in the night and then going to his window to see that! His Facebook page notes it was a banging noise that awakened him to the fact something was going on outside. Still, probably better a mountain lion than a human intruder.
"Turned on the lights, looked out the window and what did I see? A mountain lion killing an elk on my front porch," Zelenka said in the post.
The next morning Zelenka called the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department. They sent out a conservation officer who removed the carcass. He posted a phot of the elk in the back of the officer's pickup. Which was probably a good idea because while the lion did open the stomach, it appears it didn't get much of a chance to feed before being interrupted.
Mountain lions often like to stash their meals and return to them later. Sure enough, Zelenka checked his outside security cameras the next day and found the big cat returned later trying to find its meal. In this case, removing the food was probably the best-case scenario.
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