one mean mule

[chelidon]

Wow.

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ONE MEAN MULE!!!
This may be a first...

A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision...

The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided he wanted a piece of that lion. That's when all hell broke loose... for the lion.

As the lion approached the dogs the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, than whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride... as if nothing had just happened.

Fortunately even though the hunter didn't get off a shot, his wife got off these 4...

http://tinypic.com/eiqn2e.jpg
http://tinypic.com/eiqqfs.jpg
http://tinypic.com/eiqqm1.jpg
http://tinypic.com/eiqnih.jpg
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Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/faerose_/]

eeeeeeww ouch

[raqs.livejournal.com]

large quadruped no want to be food.

made his decision.

[morrigandaughtr.livejournal.com]

Wow.

[christeos-pir.livejournal.com]

W.
T.
F.
O.
?

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

"Choose ye well." ;>

Egads.

[cerr.livejournal.com]

Growing up in Montana I saw Mtn Lions from time to time and they're definitely not to be messed with *sigh* Anna and I drove up Lolo pass one night just to see what we could see and ended up passing a family of mountain lions on the road, I still get the shivers thinking about them in the moonlight (harvest moon, too, if memory serves) this is really something! I've never seen a more protective mule though, that's mindblowing!

[alobar.livejournal.com]

Some people sometimes make the mistake to assume that herbivores are not killers. I used to own a horse. The barn had rats. One day I came in to feed my horse & saw a dead rat which was splatted against the barn wall. About a month later, I saw how my horse kills rats. He picked up a rat in his teeth which was trying to eat the horse's food, shook the rat, then tossed the rat over his shoulder. While the rat was flying thru the air, the hose kicked with both hind legs, punting the rat into the wall, where the rat went splat & kinda dribbled down the wall. Deadly force, deadly accuracy, and impecable timing to kick a rat in the air like that. I imagine this was a skill acquired thru lots of practice.

While I never saw a mule go after big carnivores, the behavior does not surprise me. Horses consider themselves part of the family, and probably mules do also. So protecting family member dogs would come naturally.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Yep, good point. Herbivore != pacifist ;>

[perpetua-redux.livejournal.com]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Ha, too funny. I still love the pics, tho'.

[perpetua-redux.livejournal.com]

They are cool--even if the story isn't quite true!

[a-valan-che.livejournal.com]

Never seen or heard anything like it before.