The afternoon was interrupted by a phone call a little after four. One of my wardens.

They need me and the tranq kit. A mountain lion. At the town's historic site.

In town.

Off I go.

Threw in the dart pistol (just like in Got 'cha) and jab pole, just in case. Never know how close you're gonna be to these things.

Get a couple calls on the radio on the ten-minute drive in. They're eager. Hope it isn't too much of a circus.

Turn the corner to the site, and there are enforcement vehicles with their lights flashing all over the place. Several blocking the road. Folks lining the sidewalks and tourists filing out of the site. Guy from the newspaper wandering around taking photos. At least two town officers down prone in the grass in SWAT gear with semi-autos trained on the vicious feline. Others throwing up a neon orange plastic fence to keep folks back (or the lion in?). Only thing it needed to be a circus was a big tent.

Don't even get to see the cat. Wardens sweep down on my truck as I arrive, and we start guessing the cat's weight and figuring dosages.

A friend made the mistake of coming up to see what was going on, so we drafted him to hold the complete syringes as we filled each up. (They are never ready to go like they show in the movies. Never. Drugs spoil too quickly. Drugs have to be liquified and then each syringe has to be measured and filled separately, at the scene, just like in the doctor's office.) Told him not to get any on himself, which was just enough warning to keep him scared and careful.

No, we do not use carfentanil (the stuff from Jurassic Park II that they used on the T-rex). Even the smallest droplet of that blue liquid on your skin, and you have to give yourself an immediate intramuscular shot of the antagonist (antidote).

If you don't, you die. Soon.

After training, I advised both wardens we had nothing in our country worth dying for and would not carry carfentanil. They agreed. If a T-rex shows up, I may change my mind.

Deputies seemed a little distressed we weren't in any hurry. In fact, one warden took the time to step aside and take a few practice shots on a tree. While the deputies thought they alone protected the town from this dangerous beast, peacefully hiding (it thought) under some bushes in an alcove. But otherwise things went calmly and smoothly.

Three darts. One each for the warden and a deputy, and a spare for the warden. I held on to the spare, and finally got a peek at the cat. Cooperative critter. Lets them get closer than normal for the shots. As I watched, I noticed we had at least seven people armed to put down the cat. Only two armed to save it.

One warden was armed with a shotgun to back up the dart shooters. Cops point out to her that the cat is bedded next to the gas main for the whole site.

i.e. Watch your shot, or the cat will be the least of our worries.

But the lion is also up against a large stone wall. Perfect backstop for any shots if they become necessary, especially in a town. Warden has already advised the armed deputies and cops not to let the lion get past the corner of the wall. Past there it is into residential areas. Difficult to track, high risk to people (mainly little ones) and a poor place to be using either firearms or darts.

Whatever happens, happens here.

First dart (the deputy's) misses.

No response from the cat on the second dart, but we wait just the same. Not known if it was hit. Too deep in the bushes to see. No drowsiness, no decline in alertness. The drugs could take effect in as little as 15-20 seconds, but if the injection misses pure muscle and ends up in a joint or between muscles, it could take a minute or two.

Wait two minutes. No change in the cat, except it is shifting around, getting nervous about all the people. If it makes a run for it, it will die.

There is little danger of an overdose with this drug, so we load the third dart.

As soon as the dart hits, the cat tears out from the bushes.

If it goes to its left, it will be in a deadend corner, which should slow it enough for the drugs to take effect. If it goes right, it will be heading down the wall in full view, with death waiting before the corner.

It goes right.

You can see a slight ungainliness in its stride, probably the drugs taking effect, but it is still making full speed for a lion. Eight yards from the corner two shots ring out, almost simultaneous.

The lion problem is solved.

They did what they were told to do. What they had to do.

I wish the wall had been 20 yards longer. It may have made the difference.

I wish the lion had turned left, instead of right.

Beautiful animal, even in death. The short tawny hairs, large bright eyes.

Wardens loaded the carcass and quickly hightailed it out of there, leaving me to deal with the press and tourists as I try to pack my gear. Try hard to explain what we did to save the lion, and why it ended the way it did. Most understood.

Then visited with Tina, the manager of the site. You may remember her. She's nearly in tears.

She was in the office when the lion tried to get in. Yes, get in. They show me the dusty paw prints on the glass. The visitor's center has low glass all around, and looks like a dark cave from the outside. Perfect attraction for a lion trying to get out of sight.

She was sitting at a desk just a few feet away from a lion trying to get through the glass. And she's crying for the lion.

"I could never do your job."

Somedays I don't want to do it either, Tina.