“Is the door locked?”he asks.
“It’s a cat, it can’t turn doorknobs,” I say.
Hunter checks it anyway.It’s locked.The lion stops sniffing the window and sits back on its haunches, staring at us.We stare back.
“I’ve never seen one up close before,” I say.
“That’s a good thing,” he points out.
Big Sky National Forest has two large predatory mammals: black bears and mountain lions.Black bears are basically overgrown raccoons — they dig through trash, they forage for food, and if you make noise, they run away.They’re dangerous if you sneak up on them or get between a mother and cubs, but I’ve seen dozens of them and I’m fine.
Mountain lions, on the other hand, youdon’twant to see.They’re nocturnal, sneaky, quiet, and don’t like being around humans.I’m sure dozens of them have seenme, but I’ve only seen a lion once, from across a canyon.
If a mountain lion is letting you see it, you’re probably in for a bad time.
I’m pretty happy for the glass right now.
“So...”I start.Hunter looks at me.“What do we do about this guy?”
“This is your department,” he says.“If it’s not a fire or an enemy combatant, I don’t know shit.”
The lion shakes its head, then starts walking again.We turn in place as it paces around the lookout to the other side, facing the fire.Then it looks at us again, and I swear it looksoffended.
“I think we might be in its spot,” I say.“It doesn’t really seemworried.”
Hunter crosses his arms in front of his chest and keeps watching it.After a moment, the lion yawns, then lays down, sprawling out on the balcony like a lazy house cat, facing the distant glow of the fire.
“Theydolike being up high,” I say.“It makes sense that this guy would come to the lookout to check on his territory.”
Hunter takes a step forward and puts one knee on the cot by the windows.The lion tilts its head and looks back at him.
“Hey, this is for people, not cats,” he says.
The lion blinks.
“I can’t believe that didn’t work,” I say.
“How do we get it down?”he asks, still looking at the lion.
“I think we wait for it to leave,” I say.“I’m sure he’ll be gone when we wake up.”
He just looks at me incredulously.
“I’m not sure I can sleep with a literal lion at my literal door,” he says.
I start laughing.
“What?”he mutters.
“You were in a war zone withenemy combatants, and now you fight wildfires, and you don’t want to sleep with a kitty cat outside?”I tease.
“It’s alion,” he says.
“It still can’t get in.”
He sighs.
“Really, this is amazing,” I say.“Most people never see one up close like this, especially in the wild.And I don’t think it wants to eat us.I think it’s annoyed that we’re here, fucking up its sweet lookout spot.”
