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View Full Version : Ginny see's her first lion



Clint_S
01-04-2005, 10:28 PM
Got a call yesterday from the grader operator in the next drainage over from me that he had spotted a cat track while plowing the road, he called at noon so I just got the general direction the cat was travelling which was South toward me then took a quick run up the drainage behind my house to see if he was a long walker or if he might have made a kill or holed up for the night in the next valley over. I didn't find a track up my drainage so I just left it at that since I knew where a pretty well used crossing was just up the hill. I sledded up the hill with the intention of checking my home drainage first and if that didn't pan out I would go and walk out the old track, luckily right where I expected the lion to cross I was greeted with a nice set of tracks coming down my sled tracks from the night before. I went back got the dogs and away we went.
http://www3.telus.net/airedales/recent_images/cat1-010405.jpg
The snow was super dry since it has been quite cold recently and below knee height so I left the misery slippers in the truck and after about ten minutes I realized I had made a good decision since the cat headed straight down across a steep creek drainage and straight up the other side. Snowshoes would have been useless on these steep slopes and I would have been packing them on my back. So right down into the guts of the draw and up the other side, a nice little warm up on this -12c morning. When I crested the other side I was drenched with sweat despite the cold but I could hear the dogs not too far up the valley which helped ease my aching legs and lungs. The dogs had a nice young tom treed low in a lodge pole pine and were telling him to come down if he dared.
http://www3.telus.net/airedales/recent_images/cat2-010405.jpg
The dogs talked with the lion for a while then he decided he'd had enough and vacated the premises with the dogs on his tail. Putting my gloves and jacket back on was rather uncomfortable since they had frozen into solid chunks of ice in the few minutes we were at the tree but I broke them up and followed after. The dogs treed the lion again at the valley bottom this time up a big fir. After some more photos I opened my thermos and had a nice cup of tea while the dogs carried on. The lion jumped from the fir into a dead snag then on into a cedar dumping snow all over the dogs and my tea. After a bit we left the lion up a tree, hopefully he'll leave my deer hunting area for another drainage. All in all a fun day and home by 3:00
http://www3.telus.net/airedales/recent_images/dogs-010405.jpg

sksman
01-04-2005, 10:41 PM
nice pix, clint! so you didn't take him home?!;-)

Marc
01-04-2005, 11:28 PM
Great pictures and an awesome story thanks for sharing them with us Clint.

Steeleco
01-04-2005, 11:39 PM
Too cool. Nice pictures, my kids will love them when they see them in the morning. Thanks for sharing!!

bone-collector
01-05-2005, 05:20 AM
fuzzy winter coat in that tree and you could have left the frozen one on the ground :lol:

great pics thanks

houndogger
01-05-2005, 06:50 AM
Glad to hear ya got that lion you were after there Clint! Once again great pics, is that your new camera? Keep us post with your winter chases.

Good luck Dave

leftcoast
01-05-2005, 08:59 AM
Clint right on! Great day for you and the dogs. Good pics.

=keith=

greybark
01-07-2005, 08:41 PM
Hey Clint , Super photos . Is that Ginny trying to get up the tree?

Schutzen
01-09-2005, 02:10 AM
Clint

Simply outstanding!

Clint_S
01-09-2005, 07:43 PM
Boy this is weird. I don't remember making this post at all, thought I just posted pics only under the hunting dog section and only posted this extended version on a dog forum I frequent. I'm going to have to quit cooking with those aluminum pots I must be getting oldtimers disease.

Marc
01-09-2005, 08:06 PM
Well Clint I'm glad you did post the extended section on this site too it was great and exciting to read. Time to get off Grandma's caugh syrope. ;)

leftcoast
01-09-2005, 08:41 PM
Aww heck Clint, them pictures were worth looking at a few times. :)


=keith=

houndogger
01-09-2005, 10:51 PM
I would let anyone that is senile post if he has good pics and story like that!

Nait Hadya
01-22-2005, 09:28 AM
Great photos Clint ! Is that a pair of AIREDALES under that cat?

buckee
01-22-2005, 02:04 PM
Really nice photos. :razz:

Clint_S
01-22-2005, 07:12 PM
Sure is Nait.