Colorado Man Wakes Up to a Mountain Lion Eating an Elk on Front Porch

Charles Zelenka has lived in his Glenwood Springs home for almost 20 years, and for the first time in his 17 years living there Charles woke up at 2 a.m. to a loud banging outside his house. He assumed it was the bears trying to break into his bear-proof dumpster, which is common.

But after looking out his window he was shocked to see, “an elk on my front porch! I could see it kicking its front legs. I was like, What the hell happened? I couldn’t figure it out.”

“I was just about ready to turn and go out the door, and a mountain lion popped up from underneath this thing,” Zelenka continued. “So I grabbed my phone—I’m in my skivvies, I’ve just gotten out of bed—and start recording.”

The video, posted to Facebook, has had more than 23,000 shares and nearly 5,000 comments. It shows a snow-covered cougar with blood on his fur directly outside on his porch.

Charles placed a call to local dispatch, who advised him to stay safe. After the cat had gone back into the woods, Zelenka grabbed a quick photo of the elk, before heading back to bed.