Mountain lions roaming Colorado town in pride of about 10 'troubles' officials

Colorado wildlife officials issued a warning for the residents of Edwards this week after discovering a pride of 8 to 10 lions has been "roaming" neighborhoods in the area. In recent days, residents have stumbled upon several animal carcasses and at least two attacks on dogs have been reported. The recent increase in mountain lion sightings prompted officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to alert the Edwards-area to be on high alert. "This is a troubling situation and we are very concerned for the safety and welfare of the people in this area," CPW Northwest Regional Manager JT Romatzke said in an online statement Thursday. "We ask everyone to take this warning seriously." "We urge residents to be extremely cautious because lions are large, powerful predators and can be very dangerous if they've lost their natural fear of people," CPW District Wildlife Manager Matt Yamashita added in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation very closely." Based on information they've recieved so far, officials believe there are two female lions that are each traveling with a litter of 3 to 4 juvenile lions — though the young lions are "nearly full grown, as large or possibly larger than their mother," the CPW said. "It appears the female lions are teaching their young to hunt among a human populated area. Considering we are talking about nearly full-grown lions, this is not a sustainable situation. We will take the appropriate management action as necessary, but what the action will be remains to be seen and will be based on our assessment of public risk and the lion's behavior going forward," Yamashita added...MORE