A little hot water frees mountain lion babies from tracks

HELENA, Mont. -- A railroad inspector and a game warden used the age-old trick of a little hot water to free three mountain lion kittens stuck to a railroad track.

Pat O'Rourke was inspecting the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe main line near Butte on Friday when he saw three kittens frozen to the tracks. One was on its back and one was stuck by its tail. The third had a paw on a railroad spike and its belly on the track.

The young mountain lions apparently had crossed Silver Bow Creek in the 10-degree air before walking onto the steel rails and getting stuck.

"I tried to approach them with a shovel and give them a little prod," O'Rourke said. "I couldn't figure out... I thought they were just born."

When O'Rourke realized they were frozen to the tracks, he tried pouring coffee from his thermos on one kitten's paw. That didn't work either.

"They kept licking their paws, and the more they licked, the more stuck they got," O'Rourke said. "It seemed like every time they moved one thing, something else got stuck."

The sound of the screaming kittens roused their mother, who was on a nearby ridge. The roar of the angry female mountain lion spooked O'Rourke back into his truck.

O'Rourke called for help and Marty Vook, a state game warden, responded. He brought the hot water. O'Rourke said the kittens left patches of hair on the steel tracks.

"They weren't real healthy when they left," he said. "But the warden said that was their best chance."