Earlier this month, wildlife officials managed to save two mountain lions trapped in a spillway near Durango, Colorado, with some rope and a little creativity. According to an announcement from the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Department, a worker managing the Vallecito Reservoir spotted the young cougars just before releasing water from an irrigation dam, which would've most likely drowned the animals.
As you'll see in the video, the spillway is designed with high walls and while they help direct the flow of the water, they also make it difficult for something like a cougar to escape. However, the wildlife officer who responded to the scene had an idea. He dangled a rope down to see if it would attract the cougars' attention —- and it did.
The first mountain lion grabbed onto a pole tied to the rope and the officer pulled it to the top of the spillway barrier. Then, it ran off into the woods. Saving the other one wasn't so simple because it had trouble holding onto the rope and ended up running down the spillway. However, the officer managed to coax the animal into a corner. Then, he climbed down and caught it using a catch pole. Finally, he lifted the it over the concrete wall and released it.
