On March 11, a mountain lion killed our beloved sheep Aurora.
Aurora resting her head on her twin sister (photo by Cassie Ibarra)
Weeks later, I am still in shock and grieving for her and what she must have had to go through. It happened during the night and I heard nothing. The mountain lion jumped one of the fences and I found Aurora’s body in the morning. It has taken me a while to be able to write this horrifying news. I had to gather my strength immediately, however, to figure out how to keep everybody else safe. For now, the sheep spend every night in one of the barn stalls, with Pegasus and Perseus the miniature horses in the other. Thank goodness for a well-built secure barn.
A door closes for one and opens for another. Everyone tells me the only way to keep the sheep safe is to get a guardian dog. I already have my name in for a puppy who comes from a long line of livestock guardians. So the next member of the sanctuary will be, unexpectedly, a dog. Cows are said to act as a deterrent as well. But before I welcome any more new members, I’ve got to have tall fencing built around the barn to provide a secure outdoor area.
This has been a hard lesson in sharing habitat, but I was glad to see when I googled how to protect livestock from mountain lions that the first page listed was the Mountain Lion Foundation. The lions need protection too. The foundation urges people who have sheep or goats to take responsibility to safeguard their animals so mountain lions are not drawn in. I’m working on it.
Sanctuary life is most often joyful, but there are times when it is so very painful. I take comfort in knowing, dearest Aurora, my little northern lights sheep, that you will light up our hearts forever.
Aurora (left) and her sister, Snowflake, with their mother, Fleur-de-Lis
