Ah, another fabulous weekend in Santa Fe. This Saturday, our neighbors Juan and Liz, who live at 1022 B Don Diego Avenue, came home from an errand to find a cougar in their front yard (read: our back yard) devouring a small animal. When the mountain lion saw them, it hissed, jumped over a six-foot high wall, and disappeared. Needless to say, we've been a bit antsy around the compound lately. That same evening, Bob (our other neighbor) swears he heard a thump on his roof "heavy enough to be a man" and actually went outside to check it out because he thought some teens might be goofing around or something. Meantime, this story ran in the Albuquerque Journal North today
Cougar Ate My Cat, Owner Says
By John Arnold
Journal Staff Writer
Suzanne Getz does a lot of hiking, but she had never seen a mountain lion until Saturday morning.
And the lion wasn't on a mountain trail.
Getz was sitting in front of her Lomita Street home in Santa Fe's South Capitol neighborhood when she noticed what she believes was a mountain lion lying down at the edge of her yard.
"I know when I was looking at him, he was looking at me too," Getz said. "I was thinking, 'Wow, his head is really big.' ''
More surprising than the cat's size, however, was the prey in its paws— a neighbor's much smaller cat named Charlie that had been sunbathing in a nearby yard.
After seeing Getz, the mountain lion "got up, picked up the cat and took off," Getz said. "I don't think I had time to really be afraid."
Getz ran across the street and alerted Charlie's owner, Nicole Martel, that her pet had been killed. Martel said she left her house and joined some other neighbors gathered at the end of the street, where the mountain lion was hiding in some bushes.
"And all of a sudden his face peeked out with my little guy in his mouth," Martel said. The mountain lion climbed a 6-foot wall "like it was nothing" and fled.
Yep, that sounds like our John. And Lomita Street is only a couple blocks away. I called New Mexico Game and Fish, but didn't get a response.
Oh, and P.S. the photo isn't of the real John. Personally, I never saw him. This is just a random shot I lifted from somebody else's blog! You know, the stunt-double John.
7 comments:
Holy cow! Or should I say Holy Cat? Believe it or not, there's at least one roaming around Mom & Dad's neighborhood, but at least that's a rural area. Once again, I offer my services at sewing a survival cape. :)
Keep an eye on your sweet little full-bladdered pup!
Thanks! We're walking on cat feet. (Bad joke, I know.)
You know, what's even more disturbing than John killing people's pets is that he's a cannibal. You'd think a big powerful cat like that would go straight for dogs. The fact that he has a taste for his own... scary! Maybe that's a sign that he won't go after Chihuahua McNuggets. Do you look left and right through the crack of the door before stepping out?
Well South Cap is full of plump, Whole-Foods-fed kitties. John can probably set up shop here and never have to chase those swift and gamey wild kritters again. It is strange that he eats his own, though. Maybe he needs therapy? (Once again, he's in the right part of town)
OK. Now I feel lame. I was like: John Cougar? I was like, now I can tell my story:
Just this week, I met Joey Gazelle. Now, supposedly Snake Plissken was here, but I didn't actually met him.
But of course... it's not nearly as interesting as your story.
Hey, Byron, it was a lame pun to begin with, especially since the artist in question has been "John Mellancamp" for more than 10 years now. But for an '80s girl like me, he'll always be John Cougar.
Now if I could just use the melody of of "Jack and Diane" to make up a parody of the whole mountain lion experience.
"Just a little ditty
About Santa Fe
Mountain lion ate my neighbor's cat
And then ran away. . ."
I'll keep working on it ;)
I would like to state in my own defense the I was feeling a tad bit hungry. I did walk over 36 miles that morning and needed some food and a place to crash. However, I was shunned by you large bipeds and now I am also being ridiculed for eating my own kind. It was hunger that drove me to it I tell you.
Little ditty 'bout John the big cat,
ate some house pets, now he's ly'n 'round fat.
John is gonna do some jail time,
and being hungry was his only crime.
Oh yeah life goes on,
long after the taste of the meal is all gone,
all gone.
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