A mountain lion was seen on video swimming across McPhee Reservoir last weekend in Southwest Colorado, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
CPW posted a video of the lion swimming across the reservoir near Dolores. The video was captured by Tommy Branson of Durango.
“What a rare sight to see,” CPW posted. “The mountain lion safely made it to shore and continued on his way. Who said cats don’t like water?”
CPW wildlife manager Matt Thorpe said mountain lions are “certainly ... not lovers of water,” but they probably go for a swim more often than we think.
Mountain lions often cross creeks and rivers, but less so large bodies of water, Thorpe said.
“We were certainly surprised, being in the business,” he said. “Who knows what goes through the mind of a wild critter ... but certainly there was something to drive it to swim across a big lake.”
Attempts to reach Branson were not successful Wednesday.
jromeo@durangoherald.com