Big cats stuck on tall things, part I

Mountain lion on a pole, courtesy of Dorothy Legan of Teton, Idaho

Big cats out west have been having a fun time in the last week: they climb tall objects; pose for pictures; then stun their audiences by leaping safely to the ground. I’ve seen circulating pictures of two of these cat athletes, a mountain lion who climbed a telephone pole in Idaho and a bobcat who climbed her way up a 45-foot suguaro cactus in Arizona.

Dorothy Legan of Teton, ID, saw other drivers stopped by the big cat on a telephone pole on her way to work on April 29. She stopped and took the picture here just with her cellphone. “One of the neighbors said his dogs had been barking all night so I imagine that is why the cat went up the pole,” she said. “As I was leaving, I saw the mountain lion jump from the pole and run across the field. I had no idea that it could jump from that height and not be injured.” It was the biggest cougar she’d ever seen in that area.

If you look around online you can find a few cats perched on improbably tall objects. Like this bobcat on a utility pole in Brevard, County, FL. Or this bobcat in a tree at Lake Woodruff NWR. But the sighting of a mountain lion this big doing something this bold is pretty spectactular.