By Mark S. McDonald Sr., Undocumented Miner of Yesteryear
In mid-January, an Austin-area man reported seeing a mountain lion walk across the
front yard of the family’s home near Leander. The animal was caught on the door bell camera, disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. (Hold the yawn.) A cougar in 2017 was sighted in a residential back yard in the Montana Vista neighborhood of El Paso, during daylight hours. Escape from the local zoo?
Even that one doesn’t compare to the 2011 incident in which a rogue mountain lion was shot twice with tranquilizer darts, with plans to remove it to the nearby Franklin Mountains. When the lion still tried to elude Parks & Wildlife staffers, they shot the animal dead. That 102-pound male lion was taken a long field goal from downtown El Paso, at H&H Car Wash.
Where else can you get a car wash, a plate of migas, strong coffee and weak B.S.? All courtesy of the owner, crusty Maynard Haddad, 85, quite possibly the most loyal UTEP Miners fan in … um … in captivity.
Miners Are Forever 