A rare mountain lion encounter near Mulligan Park in Sublette County has left a Pinedale man shaken but unhurt.
John Stach wounded a bull elk on Oct. 31, according to a state Game and Fish Department newsletter.As he tracked the elk, he noticed another set of tracks in the snow but did not worry about them, thinking they were left by a bear that was scared off by his movement.
He began to field dress the elk and looked up to notice a mountain lion staring at him from about 10 feet away.
"When (Pinedale game warden) Duke Early and I went back to the area, you could see where the mountain lion had been stalking me for about 35 yards," he said. "He never made a sound, and when I did see him, he was staring me right in the eyeballs. I guess he was bound and determined he was going to keep his elk."
Stach stood up and fired a warning shot with his rifle, but the lion began approaching him. He fired another shot, which missed the lion but hit a tree. Fragments from the shattered bullet fatally wounded the lion, Early said.