DENVER - Two photographs, supposedly of extreme encounters with wildlife in Colorado's High Country, have been making the rounds online.
One photo, showing a man holding a dead mountain lion than is longer that he is tall, has turned up on numerous Facebook pages.
Online commenters say that the cat, killed near Idaho Springs, was discovered to have several dog collars (as many as five) in its stomach.
The original poster told 9NEWS he wasn't sure if the photo was real and didn't want to say where it came from, saying only that he "got it from an email."
9NEWS spoke with the professional hunter who arranged the hunt for a friend. The professional hunter, who is the man in the photo, asked not to be identified. He confirmed that the cat was shot two weeks ago near Idaho Springs.
For context on the photo, he said he is five feet five inches tall and the cougar weighed 165 pounds.
The online claims about dog collars in the cat's stomach are untrue, he said.
Eric Wolff, who says he is the bow hunter who shot the cat, also decried the online rumors about collars in the animal's stomach.
"They're uneducated. If anybody knew anything about mountain lions they'd know it couldn't survive with a collar in it's stomach. It's insane," Wolff said. "It's not a shark."
Wolff says the online rumor mill about the photo has been "unbelievable." Wolff provided 9NEWS with a second photo showing him sitting with the large cat.
Another photograph shows a moose attacking a snowmobiler.
One post provides the name of the rider being attacked and says the incident happened in Summit County.
The same photograph has been posted on several websites around the country. Its origin is unknown, but the original Colorado poster admits that he made up the Summit County story to play a joke on friends.
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