Retired deputy sheriff Drue Stafford is used to seeing plenty of wildlife on his property near the Bear River Narrows in Idaho, including regular visits from deer, elk, and wild turkeys.
But earlier this week, he had a special visit from three juvenile mountain lions who curiously crept up onto his porch after stalking a group of turkeys.
“All three showed up at the door,” Stafford told the Idaho State Journal.
Stafford filmed the encounter, and the three young lions, estimated to be six months old, eventually made their way around the side of his house towards his garage. When Stafford went out to investigate further and look for their mother, the startled cats absconded to the hay barn at the corner of his property.
Because the cats were still so young, Stafford found it odd that their mother wasn’t with them, so he notified Idaho Fish and Game, who told him to call again the next day if the cubs were still on his property.
When Stafford cautiously approached the hay barn the next morning and found “blue eyes and ears staring up at me,” he notified Fish and Game again. The cubs moved on before officials arrived, but they were eventually confirmed to be orphans and were moved to a facility in Preston, Idaho, that specializes in caring for orphaned mountain lions.
According to Idaho Fish and Game, the three cubs will be given new homes in the spring.
