Colorado Lion w/ REPOST

I was searching for bears in one of my usual spots when a couple of mule deer shot out of the oak brush in front of me, heads held high, bleating and running for their lives. I was sure that a bear was nearby searching for fawns, and was extremely surprised when a big lion exited the brush behind them. It stalked directly toward me (it's eyes never left mine the entire time), coming to within about 40 feet of me. A group of cub scouts came up the trail at that moment and the lion hit the deck, hiding in the tall grass for the next hour, until the group of kids and parents left.

It's not the greatest photo (light was low, I had no time to adjust shutter speed, and I was shaking like a leaf, even with my tripod), but it's my first halfway decent cougar shoot (walked away with maybe ten keepers) and my first sighting of the year - hopefully not the last!

Sony A200
Sony 75-300 @ 280mm
iso 400
1/40 sec @ f5.6
Douglas County, Colorado