Last winter I ran a coyote and bobcat trapline in northern Nevada. One of the sets was in the mouth of a small cave in a lava outcropping.
When I looked in the cave, I saw that the trap was missing. Peering around the opening, I expected to see a bobcat in the trap farther back in the cave.
A bloodcurdling scream and a flash of yellow fur hit me as a mountain lion leapt from the cave in a rush to get away. I fell backward from the ledge…
…and hit my head on the rocks, blacking out.
I came to a while later. Luckily I was wearing a lot of heavy clothes, which softened my fall and kept me warm while I was out.
I looked around for the lion, but all that was left was one of its toes in my trap.
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