# Remind me to never spook a mule **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 22, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671 "2005-04-22T21:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/1 "2005-04-22T21:33:30Z")
[http://www.tombstonetumbleweed.com/This\_Week/BadAssKillsCougar/badasskillscougar.HTM](http://www.tombstonetumbleweed.com/This_Week/BadAssKillsCougar/badasskillscougar.HTM) That’s one big cat too. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/2 "2005-04-22T21:39:17Z")
Is it just me or does that look photoshopped? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/3 "2005-04-22T23:00:11Z")
I don’t know if it’s photoshopped or not, but the story is quite plausible. You do _not_ want to mess around with a scared, pissed-off equine. Just a guess from the pictures, but I’d say that’s probably close to a 1,000-pound mule, and that cat’s not much over 100 pounds. I’ve been _accidentally_ stepped on by horses, and I don’t even want to think about being stomped on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/4 "2005-04-22T23:21:59Z")
And mules, unlike horses, are noted for having minds of their own. Which is, simultaneously both one of their good and bad points. So, if it’s scared, it **will** do something about the problem. I, too, find it completely plausible. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/5 "2005-04-22T23:22:51Z")
The dog audience looks a little sheepish to have a mule as their bodyguard. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/6 "2005-04-22T23:23:44Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > And mules, unlike horses, are noted for having minds of their own. Depends on the horse. If you don’t properly train the alpha animals in the herd (and sometimes even then) they have a very definite mind of their own. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/7 "2005-04-22T23:24:01Z")
Yeah, but not stupid enough to piss off a mule. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/8 "2005-04-22T23:27:43Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Depends on the horse. If you don’t properly train the alpha animals in the herd (and sometimes even then) they have a very definite mind of their own. I’d only meant to speak to generalities. My direct experience with equines of any type can be counted on my fingers and toes. I’ve got some, but most of my knowledge comes from reading I did during my ‘horse phase’ as a pre-teen, and some later. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/9 "2005-04-22T23:33:39Z")
It’s been widely dismissed by experienced lion hunters on Hunting forums. The dogs wouldn’t be spectators with a live lion. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/10 "2005-04-23T00:18:31Z")
> [@Unregistered Bull](#): > > It’s been widely dismissed by experienced lion hunters on Hunting forums. The dogs wouldn’t be spectators with a live lion. I wouldn’t bet on that. The likely outcome of the dogs getting involved might be several dead dogs as well. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/11 "2005-04-23T00:24:25Z")
Also, IIRC, the only picture that showed dogs in the background was after the cougar was dead, dead, dead. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/12 "2005-04-23T00:30:06Z")
The dogs in the back are scent hounds. i love dogs, but scent hounds need, umm, dynamite, to move. Yeah, iy could happen. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/13 "2005-04-23T01:16:47Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I don’t know if it’s photoshopped or not, but the story is quite plausible. You do _not_ want to mess around with a scared, pissed-off equine. Just a guess from the pictures, but I’d say that’s probably close to a 1,000-pound mule, and that cat’s not much over 100 pounds. I’ve been _accidentally_ stepped on by horses, and I don’t even want to think about being stomped on purpose. The picture looks like crap to me. The images are too grainy to take accurate ratio measurements but the cat appears to be slightly different sizes in different pictures. Also the shadows don’t appear to match, but again, the poor quality of the images makes it difficult to tell for certain. At any rate, I doubt a cougar would hang around long enough to take on both a mule and the several dogs and at least one person; they are generally quite retiring, attacking people or dogs only in single numbers, and only in surprise. That being said, mules and asses are both known to aggressively persecute coyotes and wild dogs, and are not a beast to trifle with. I’d expect it to attack by stomping first, rather than biting, but then, I doubt a cat would hang around to battle it out with a beast ten times its size, either. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/14 "2005-04-23T01:17:38Z")
Snopes says [undetermined](http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp). ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/15 "2005-04-23T01:20:47Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp) is your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remind-me-to-never-spook-a-mule/300671/16 "2005-04-23T01:34:36Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I wouldn’t bet on that. The likely outcome of the dogs getting involved might be several dead dogs as well. I got the opinion from experienced lion hunters and trappers. I have to defer to them. I’d like to believe it. I like mules, but it just doesn’t seem to pass the smell test for me.