College student killed cougar with broken rifle

College student killed cougar that may have chased bikers on trail
Esmerelda the hog was saved from an attacking cougar Aug. 15 by a 20-year-old man shooting a broken . 22-caliber rifle from 100 yards.
By Rachel Schleif

The Wenatchee World

LEAVENWORTH — Esmerelda the hog was saved from an attacking cougar Aug. 15 by a 20-year-old man shooting a broken .22-caliber rifle from 100 yards.

Hayden Winkler, in his boxers, had just sat down with a cup of coffee, when he heard the pig's screams around 8 a.m.

An hour before, he had been feeding the cows, pigs and chickens on Gibbs Organic Farm, near the Freund Canyon trailhead — and not far from where mountain bikers had recently reported being chased by a mountain lion.

A college student from Colorado, Winkler spent the past three months as an apprentice in sustainable farming. His pants were soaked from the morning dew and irrigation, so he left them outside.

Winkler saw through a sliding-glass door the 200-pound cat attacking Esmerelda in an alfalfa field, about 100 yards away.
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College student killed cougar