A mountain lion that killed a fawn in the 2700 block of Delwood Avenue over the weekend offers a cautionary footnote to living in the mountains, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski said Monday.

“One of our wildlife officers determined that it was a mountain lion kill and removed the carcass,” Lewandowski said Monday. “Otherwise, the cat would come back to feed.”

“The incident can be instructive to residents,” Lewandowski said.”We have a lot of deer here, so we have some mountain lions.”

Mountain lions will take out pets, Lewandowski said. Pets left outside should be in an enclosed area, not an open pen.

Mountain lion attacks on people are extremely rare, Lewandowski said. The mountain lion looks for four-legged food, and deer are its preferred meal.

“Don’t feed deer,” Lewandowski said. “Its the worst thing you can do – attracting deer to your house.”

If deer start hanging out in a backyard, a mountain lion will soon follow, he said.

daler@durangoherald.com