Bowhunter Mindy Paulek poses with a large, tom lion that she harvested near Durango, Colorado on Feb. 4, 2014. In addition to this mature lion, Paulek has taken record-sized bears and mule deer with her bow.
Calling mountain lions “elusive” is a radical understatement. It’s as if the ultra-secretive cats are equipped with cloaking devices that allow them to remain nearly invisible in their surroundings, while leaving behind only vague clues of their presence. In fact, relatively few people will ever catch a glimpse of a mountain lion in the wild, and most are perfectly happy to keep it that way. But, for bowhunter Mindy Paulek, seeing mountain lions became an almost routine experience. Finding and harvesting the “right” mountain lion, however, turned into a monumental challenge for the archer—one spanning three years and hundreds of miles in Colorado’s backcountry.
Fortunately, challenges are nothing new for Paulek. The 30-year-old Durango resident has amassed an impressive hunting resume, harvesting bears, deer, elk, wild hogs and bobcats — all with her Mathews compound bow. She’s also bagged kudu, bushbuck, springbok, wildebeest and jackals in Africa. But three years ago, Paulek set her sights closer to home on the one animal that had eluded her: a tom cougar.
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