Watch: Mountain Lion Chases Down and Kills Deer in Washington State Neighborhood
The footage taken earlier this spring shows a mountain lion sprinting after three whitetails and taking down a doe
A mountain lion took down a whitetail deer in a neighborhood of Washington State earlier this spring—and someone caught it on camera. The wild incident took place near Newport, Washington. The video was posted to YouTube by Brock Rosen on the account “Brock Hard Security,” which typically features cyber-security videos. But Rosen made an exception for the mountain lion hunting footage, which was captured on a Ring.com security camera.
The video begins with two deer sprinting down a snow-covered road. A third whitetail appears in the upper-right of the video—and behind it darts a mountain lion. The big cat cuts off the deer and catches it as it tries to turn the corner, quickly bringing its quarry to the ground. The lion holds the whitetail on its back on top of what appears to be a cement sidewalk. The lion grips the deer’s neck between its jaws, as the deer flails its legs for several minutes.
“[The mountain lion] holds on until all life is gone,” writes Rosen in the video description. “Only nature could be so awesome and yet, so dreadful.”
Washington State is home to an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 mountain lions and 110,000 whitetails. Mountain lions, which are also known as cougars or pumas, are the largest member of the cat family in Washington. Male lions reach average weights of 140 pounds but have been known to reach 180 pounds and measure 7 to 8 feet from nose to tail. Female lions are slightly smaller and rarely top 110 pounds—but are still lethal hunters.
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Mountain lions are typically ambush predators that lie in wait before springing upon prey from short range. When they do give chase, they can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and jump 15 feet high and 40 feet in distance, according to the National Wildlife Federation. A USDA informational pamphlet says that adult mountain lions are known to kill one deer-sized animal every 6 to 12 days.
