YOUR AD HERE »

Mountain lions concern Lake Catamount residents

Matt Stensland

— Residents in the Lake Catamount area this week have been trying to deter four mountain lions from calling the scenic area home.

Bruce Allbright, who lives in the area full time, said the caretaker of the historic Rehder Ranch spotted the lions and discovered they had been staying in an unused barn on a property owned by a second-home owner.

“So far, there have been no dog attacks, but that’s what we wanted to avoid,” Allbright said. “It’s pretty frustrating.”



Catamount is a hub for winter recreation, with skiers taking advantage of the groomed cross country trails. People also walk their dogs in the area.

On Saturday, Allbright and the property caretaker attempted to get a lion out of the barn. Allbright stayed outside with a shotgun while the caretaker entered the barn.



“The cat jumped out a window pretty close to where I was standing — about 10 feet away,” Allbright said.

A warning shot was fired above the lion’s head, and it ran away. The lion returned, though, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were informed about the situation.

Area Wildlife Manager Jim Haskins said the officers approved a plan by Catamount residents to have a hunter come out with dogs. The plan did not involve killing the lions.

“The whole idea was to find a non-lethal way to get that lion to vacate the property,” Allbright said.

On Sunday, the dogs were sent into the barn to scare out a lion, and Allbright fired a round of rubber buckshot at the animal. The non-lethal ammunition was provided by wildlife officials. The lion jumped out the same window.

The lion left but returned again to the barn. It was again scared away, and, on Monday, they discovered fresh tracks. They also found where an elk carcass had been dug up.

“Hopefully, they were just packing a lunch to relocate,” Allbright said.

The barn was boarded up to keep the lions out.

Haskins said they looked at photos taken of the lions in the area.

“I think our thought was it was a female with three kittens, but it’s hard to tell from the photo we saw,” Haskins said.

Haskins said there was no effort to relocate the lions, because they were not doing anything wrong.

“That’s what you have,” Haskins said. “You have lions out there. They are not creating any problems.”

Haskins said if the lions begin to cause problems in the area, they will re-evaluate the situation.

In December, a mountain lion was hunted and killed after it killed a resident’s dog in Steamboat’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Haskins said the decision was made to kill the animal, because it killed the dog and would not leave the underside of a home.

Haskins could not recall a mountain lion killing a dog in the Steamboat area during his 36-year career.

There are occasionally lion sightings in Butcherknife Canyon, at the Steamboat Ski Area and on Emerald Mountain.

Signs have been installed at Catamount warning residents and guests about the lions.

Haskins said there are ways to keep their animals safe from wildlife.

“As long as they are not just turning them out and letting them run, they are probably fine,” Haskins said.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.