Sunday, November 23, 2014

NM: Mountain Lion Defense by 12-year-old not widely reported






A mountain lion defense shooting has not been covered in the old media, at least not extensively.  I have not found any other stories about the event other than that published in the 14 November, 2014 issue of the Lone Star Outdoor News.  The Lone Star Outdoor News claims to be the "largest hunting and fishing newspaper in Texas".

The picture is said to have been taken by Alyssa's father, Joshua.  No date is given for the picture, but it appears to be reasonably modern, as attested by the contemporary stainless rifle barrel, camouflage composite stock, and what appears to be a nylon sling.  The camouflage pattern of Alyssa's hunting gear seems quite modern.   Alyssa is said to be a resident of Midland, Texas.   From the article:

Alyssa said she had no idea the mountain lion was there until she was looking him in the face. 

"I saw him first," Alyssa said.  "I didn't hear him or see him until he was really close.  I didn't know exactly what it was but I knew it wasn't a bobcat.  I raised my gun when he crouched down."

Alyssa shot the cat at only 5 yards.  She said that it was clear that the big cat was stalking her. 

While the place of the incident is not precisely mentioned in the article, it appears to have happened in New Mexico, near to the Colorado border.  Alyssa continued on the hunt and two days later harvested a trophy bull elk.

Update: I contacted the author of the article in the Lone Star Outdoor News, Conor Harrison.  He confirmed that the event occurred in October of this year, 2014.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good going Alyssa!

Roger V. Tranfaglia