“Mountain lion cub” sighting on the Sacramento River Trail

The woman in the white outfit looked both scared and excited.
She approached us on the trail in half steps, her hand held up in the universal “stop” signal.
She moved her finger to her lips. “Shhh. You have to see this.”
I looked down the trail, seeing nothing unusual.
“There’s a mountain lion cub, over in that pipe.”
Mountain lions are not unheard of, here on the Sacramento River Trail.
Okay then. That’ll be a good shot. I swung the camera around.
The woman in white beckoned us forward.
“Where’s the mother cat?” a practicality from my trail companion, the lovely Karry. Hm. Maybe that’s a good point. I look around more carefully.
Seeing nothing, we continue toward the pipe, camera ready.
“Look! There it is.” Nikon shutter snaps rapidfire.
Snik, snik, snik, snik.
“So cute.”
I fiddle with the display and then, “Uh, I think it’s a feral cat.”
“Ohh…?” The woman in white sounds deflated somehow.
“Yeah, pretty sure. Look here.” I zoom the display viewer for her.
She simply looks away.
“I thought it was a mountain lion cub.”
The brief spell of wonder is broken. We look around.
“Well, have nice walk.”
She offers a halfhearted, “You too.”

"Mountain Lion in Pipe." Click to enlarge. Or not, if you prefer to maintain the wonder.

“Mountain Lion in Pipe.” Click to enlarge. Or not, if you prefer to maintain the wonder.

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