Maggie & The Kits, Part II

Maggie and the Kits - sounds like a girl band. But it's not - it's a story about a mother Mountain Lion and her two kittens, Fiona and Jack. When we left them last time, their mom had taught them not to poach from the humans who lived not far from them - not only were they scary and didn't smell right, they were totally unpredicatable. Best to leave humans alone. She had better things for them to hunt.

Now, a nice predictable deer - that was good prey! Maggie taught her younglings how to follow a deer trail, and how to watch for the ones that were weak and lagging behind. Many of the older deer in the area were sick, and they were pretty easy pickings. The trick was to bring one down before it was so sick there was no meat left on its bones. A good sized deer could be many meals.

Maggie had taken the kits with her on a handful of occasions to follow the deer, but they were still pretty noisy and deer were easily startled. When the lions were hungry, Maggie would go hunting and leave the kits in the den, coming back for them after the kill had been made. She showed them how to bury their food so it would last, and how to find a kill once it had been buried. Their education was proceeding, but it was very slow going. There was so much to learn, and they needed a couple years of experience before they’d be ready to go out on their own. Neither had made a deer kill yet, although they had brought home voles, and twice, a rabbit. They were getting quite good at stalking the smaller prey. Voles, especially, were a good source of protein when deer weren’t available, as they weren’t quite as alert as the rabbits.

No point in even going after a squirrel. They’d wave their tail at you and flirt, and look as though they’d be easy to catch, and then once the rush was on, up they’d go to the skinniest branches of a tree, where even a kitten couldn’t follow. Not fair! Especially when the squirrel laughed.

The kittens were getting better at tree climbing. When they were quite young, it was hard for them to get the momentum to climb, but as they got older their strength improved and they could really climb high now. Not out on those skinny squirrel limbs, though. That was a quick trip to the ground, as Jack found out when he tried to outsmart one of those fuzzy rodents. Fortunately, it was a small tree, so the ground came up quickly and nothing was hurt but his pride. Jack never forgot that lesson, that’s for sure!

The first snows were in the mountains. No more hikers, and short days. The air was crisp and cold. The kittens enjoyed staying in the den with their mother, where it was warm and dry. But everyone’s bellies were getting pretty grumbly, so Maggie decided it was time to go rustle up some food.

“You two stay here,” she admonished her kittens. “I’m going to find a nice deer to hold us over for a few days. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I want to get out and back before the snow gets too heavy and covers too much of the scent.”

The kittens took one look out the door and snuggled back down into their nest. “Okay, mama,” said Fiona. “We’ll be good. We’ll stay right here and wait for you. Don’t be too long. I’m getting quite hungry.”

“Me too!” Exclaimed Jack. He dug himself a little deeper into the nest. It was getting cold.

This is a fantasy story, so anything that doesn't smack of sound science (like talking Mountain Lions) is purely for entertainment and teaching purposes.

More about Maggie next week!