# Never Annoy A Mule **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251 "2005-01-17T22:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/1 "2005-01-17T22:08:24Z")
I’m linking to Snopes, which has the pictures and story. Snopes says this is unconfirmed so far. I believe it’s true, having seen my own horse chase a Doberman Pinscher, with murderous intent, and damn near catch the terrified dog. In brief, a mountain lion was stalking a mounted hunting party’s dogs. [The mule took matters into its own hooves.](http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp) ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/2 "2005-01-17T22:19:27Z")
Sheesh-I could’ve told you that **ETF**. I have mini-mule-aka Satan’s Spawn. Half Shetland and half donkey. Who ever came up with that breeding combo should’ve been shot out of a cannon. ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/3 "2005-01-17T22:46:59Z")
One thing about the photos that I think is odd, is that in one of the photos you can see two dogs in the background. One of the dogs is sitting. If a huge battle is going on, it seems unlikely to me that a dog would sit down. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/4 "2005-01-17T22:50:41Z")
Mules, donkeys, horses et al are very strong animals with extremely powerful legs. Anything smaller than them can pretty easily fall into the dead category if their equine assailant got them down and started stomping. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/5 "2005-01-17T22:53:13Z")
The Snopes version doesn’t have quite the same text that accompanied the emailed version I’ve seen. Here’s the email text: > [@](#): > > "These pics came from a guy in AZ. Yes, the mule killed the mountain lion. The lion had been stalking them for the better part of the morning, on the way out to a hunt. They were pretty sure it was after one of the dogs. The cat ambushed them, and the mule pictured tossed its rider and went into attack (defense) mode, the horses scattered and shots were fired but no one was sure if they hit the cat or not. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until it was almost over that one of the guys started snapping pics. The mule finally stomped the cougar to death after biting and throwing it around like a rag doll. The dogs wouldn’t even come close until the mule settled down. Don’t forget, these are hunting dogs, not household pets. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/6 "2005-01-17T22:57:00Z")
A friend at work showed me these pictures about two months ago and told me her friend actually took them while he was hunting. I wonder if she was tricked, or maybe she could tell Snopes a thing or two. ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/7 "2005-01-17T23:01:49Z")
I don’t doubt that a mule or horse could kill an cougar. I still wonder about the photos, though. They just seem like some very calm dogs to me. Were the photos in the original email cropped in as tight? That seemed odd too. Also, they are rather good pictures. Maybe this can be explained away by the statement that the photos were taken well into the fight. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/8 "2005-01-17T23:48:25Z")
The email I got had exactly the same pictures, but with the order slightly different from Snopes. In the email, the order was: Cougar picked up by tail Mule kneeling; Cougar picked up by scruff of neck (one dog visible in background) Mule stomping (both dogs visible) The dog may be sitting, but how can you tell how tense it was? Also, it appears from the story that the mule was defending the dogs, which it is likely to have frequently associated with in its work as a hunter’s mount. Equines are inclined to include other species – humans too – in their personal herd when they spend a lot of time with them, and they’ll attack menaces to their herd. Several of my horse-owning friends have commented on these pics, and we’re all in no doubt that a mule could and would do this. One friend, who raises Welsh ponies, wrote this: > [@](#): > > Oh I think they are for real, for sure. I used to have a donkey that would attack dogs. If the pictures aren’t real, I believe the story is! I think most equine types will attack if they can’t get away from it. And they can be quite deadly. > > One time dear sweet Dondi got pissed off at Beau (140 lb Newfie), she picked him right up off the ground with her teeth about mid way of his back. Didn’t do any real damage but he did get the message! LOL Another friend commented: > [@](#): > > Sammy does not like dogs. Period. Last summer I was sitting under my umbrella, reading, by the pool when a voice called up and said my donkey was loose. Appears this woman and her dog were walking on their property, crossed onto mine down by the far corner. Sammy took one look at the dog…and went through the fence after at. He didn’t get it but he sure scared the lady! ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/9 "2005-01-18T03:59:03Z")
While I have no doubt that a mule can kill a cougar, I think the pics are staged and that the cougar was dead when the pictures were taken. My younger brother hunts cougars (which I disagree with, but that’s beside the point here) and has hounds. He says that it’s next to impossible to get them away from a kill, so I have my doubts that these dogs would be so calm and detached rather than in the midst of battle. ---
**Author:** ![VampyChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@VampyChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VampyChick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/10 "2005-01-18T04:47:20Z")
I know for a fact a mule (or pony, in my case) can kill a cougar. My riding instructor used to have a POA named Lady. Lady once had a foal. Lady killed a moutain lion that attempted to attack her foal. But considering that the mule doesn’t look smacked around in the least (and it’s described as a ‘battle’, rather than 'its neck was snapped on the first blow, when the mule stomped on it), I have to question the veracity of these photos. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/11 "2005-01-18T14:40:08Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > Sheesh-I could’ve told you that **ETF**. > I have mini-mule-aka Satan’s Spawn. > Half Shetland and half donkey. > Who ever came up with that breeding combo should’ve been shot out of a cannon. Darn, I meant to answer this, to wit: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: The attitude… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/12 "2005-01-18T15:56:56Z")
Just another reason why you shouldn’t let your cats go outside… ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-annoy-a-mule/285251/13 "2005-01-18T16:22:33Z")
> [@Amberlei](#): > > While I have no doubt that a mule can kill a cougar, I think the pics are staged and that the cougar was dead when the pictures were taken. My younger brother hunts cougars (which I disagree with, but that’s beside the point here) and has hounds. He says that it’s next to impossible to get them away from a kill, so I have my doubts that these dogs would be so calm and detached rather than in the midst of battle. I saw these pictures a few months ago, and I agree with you. Yes, I believe that a mule _could_ do that, because one of our horses will go for things like that, but it’s the dogs’ attitudes that made me think it was staged (maybe right afterwards, when someone thought they should have a picture of it?) I’ve hunted with hounds too, although not for lion, and those dogs are really into it. You have to tie them up to get them off even a dead animal. Young dogs don’t calm down until long after the killing is over, but I could see an older dog sitting there like that when his job was done, but not while the cat was still alive.