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Layla the husky and Leonard the Kelpie went nuts.

Marti Halverson’s two domestic dogs were alarmed by the wild feline padding across the Salt River Range mountainside where they live a few Wednesdays ago. 

“I looked out the front door, and there he was, walking in my driveway,” the former state representative recalled of the sighting. “Then he walked up to my front door, then around the deck.” 

Halverson reached for her iPhone. The focus of her attention and subject of a few photos was a mountain lion, clearly a young one. 

Layla and Leonard wouldn’t go out again that day unaccompanied, but Halverson also rang a local houndsman, Jason Reinhardt, to run the cat away from her home — not to kill it. 

“He brought a dog, the dog hit on the scent immediately,” Halverson said. “Jason followed it to the end of Henrys Mountain Road, and then they lost track of it.” 

Later, residents of the Star Valley neighborhood gained some insight into what was going on.

Greg Erickson, who lives directly downhill from Halverson, captured home security camera footage the same day of a noticeably larger lion. Last summer his camera caught an adult female with kittens, but this time mom was all alone. 

“Her body language was just telling one heck of a story,” Erickson said. “She was letting out little cat cries, trying to rustle the kids up.” 

A queen mountain lion looking and calling for her kittens passes by a Star Valley residence in November 2023. (Greg Erickson)

There was no doubt in Reinhardt’s mind about what was going on. The subadult lion ventured out alone — normal behavior for a youngster gaining self-confidence — and temporarily got separated from mom, he said.

“It was cute,” Reinhardt said. “She was running around, chirping, calling and trying to find that little guy.” 

Whether mom found her kitten remains unknown, though all parties interviewed were optimistic they reunited.

Mike Koshmrl reports on Wyoming's wildlife and natural resources. Prior to joining WyoFile, he spent nearly a decade covering the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s wild places and creatures for the Jackson...

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  1. At large or just walking through its area? Jeez you build your million dollar hous at the base of a mountain and then are surprised to see wildlife. This cat belongs there more than you

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  2. Beautiful footage and story of living in Cougar country. Very fortunate to have security cam when the cats wandered thru. Who’d they call? That’s right, the Cat Hunter.

    Reply