American Lion E-Book

R. Timothy Rush

• Herausgeber: Gemma Open Door for Literacy
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 46

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Set in the rugged western United States, American Lion presents true stories of the majestic North American cougar told by people who experienced the mountain lion up close. From the Rock Creek Canyon battle of the killer lion and shepherd dog to the invisible guest in the hay loft, these encounters are terrifying, heartwarming and at all times as thrilling as the native cats themselves.

Leseprobe

R. Timothy Rush

AMERICAN LION

Professor Tim Rush teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy education, humanities education, and linguistics at the University ofWyoming. Working closely with the tribes of the Wind River Indian Reservation, he has helped develop UW programs for certifying teachers of American Indian children. He was awarded the University of Wyoming Outreach School’s Holon Family Award and was recognized by the International Reading Association with its Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award. Grandfather of a girls’ volleyball champion and two young men serving in the US Air Force, Tim Rush lives on the high plains west of Laramie, Wyoming, with Alice, his wife of 50 years, and an array of horses, dogs, cats, and regular guests from the wild kingdom.

First published by GemmaMedia in 2015.

GemmaMedia230 Commercial StreetBoston MA 02109 USA

www.gemmamedia.com

©2015 by R. Timothy Rush

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Printed in the United States of America978-1-936846-53-5

eISBN: 978-1-936846-54-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rush, R. Timothy. American lion / R. Timothy Rush. pages cm. — (Gemma Open Door) ISBN 978-1-936846-53-51. Puma—Anecdotes. 2. Human-animal relationships—Anecdotes. I. Title. QL737.C23R87 2015 599.75’24—dc23 2015035877

Cover by Laura Shaw Design

Inspired by the Irish series designed for new readers, Gemma’s Open Doors provide fresh stories, new ideas, and essential resources for young people and adults as they embrace the power of reading and the written word.

Brian BouldreyNorth American Series Editor

Open Door

For Alice

Contents

A Solitary Hunter

Introduction: View from a Window

Predator and Prey

Charlie Jansen’s Barn Cat

Jake and Duke: The Rock Creek Lion Fight

Ryan, Riann, and the Guardian Mare

Curiosity and a Cat: Fort Washakie School Playground

Counting Noses

Getting Along

A Solitary Hunter

I am a solitary hunter. I live and hunt alone, but I am not lonely. Nature put me here for a purpose. I provide balance. I live to hunt and hunt to live. To live, I must kill. I am very good at it. Silently, swiftly, almost painlessly, my prey falls to me. Four-legged creatures of all sizes, from mice to horses, are my prey. On rare occasions, two-leggeds like you—your brothers, your sisters, or your young—have fallen to my sharp fangs and claws.

When I am near, you never know. When you are near, I always know. I know your language, but you have forgotten mine. I read you with more than my eyes. You speak to me in scent, sound, and movement. Your words mean little to me. Their tone and music mean much more. Your chatter draws me to you. Your silence tells me “stop.”

Naturally, my animal cousins fear me. However, you and your kind hate me. Two-legged humans are the only animals who can hate. Did you know that?

Once I am a full-grown, 150-pound giant cat, only two-leggeds, with their little wolf friends, dare hunt me.

I am like a baby when I am young. My mother cares for me. She feeds me, protects me, and teaches. We sleep in high, sheltered dens away from our enemies—such as you and your kind—and stay near those who nourish us.

Two years. That is all that I share with my kin. My sisters have the gift of motherhood and family. But he-lions must go life alone.

And after four, five, or six years alone, my life of hunting and balancing is done.

Introduction: View from a Window

The lion walked calmly across the wooden footbridge, as relaxed and confident as a house cat. He weighed 150 pounds and stretched eight feet from tip of nose to tail. His coat was thick and the color of strong coffee. The hair around his mouth and eyes was lighter, like coffee with lots of cream in it. His ears were small and rounded. A four-foot-long tail waved gently above and behind him. He was beautiful and scary big.

The cat was stealthy in a natural and graceful way. No one saw him but me that early May morning, though there were thirty people nearby. He was a silent and invisible spirit to them.

He turned off the bridge and padded softly through the grass toward the cabin window where I stood. He seemed to look into my eyes. Then he vanished. Yep, disappeared! I dashed to other windows, then, in a stupid move, stepped outside the cabin. No sign. I looked at the roof and in trees and bushes nearby. No lion.

If I had known more about the mountain lion, I would never have left that cabin while he was near. The truth is, although I have lived in lion country for most of my seventy-odd years, this was the first and only “real-life” lion I had seen. Most people in the Rocky Mountain range, from the southern tip of South America to northern Canada, have never seen a cougar. Sightings are very rare, even at a distance, let alone up close and personal, like mine.

Later in the morning, I talked with the cowboy who lived on and managed the ranch where I was staying. He told me that several deer had been killed by lions over the winter.

“Last year we saw a female lion with two cubs several times,” he told me. “They are killing the deer. The mother raised them on the ranch, and they have no fear of humans. Their last kill was almost on my front porch.” He went on, a little sadly, “I guess we’ll have to do something about them soon.”

I knew what he meant by something—bullets. But why?