The Thrill of the Chase

James L. Davis

It’s the hunting life for Trenton Tuttle of Orangeville and his wife Danielle who only rolls her eyes ever so slightly when she says with a smile that hunting in their family is a 365 day a year event.

In the spring, Trenton is on the hunt for antler sheds, in the summer, it’s time to scout for deer and elk, in the fall, its time to hunt deer or elk and in the winter, well in the winter it’s time to hunt lion, and the lion hunt is perhaps Trenton’s favorite hunt of all.

“I like going out real early in the morning when there’s fresh snow, crossing a lion track and getting the dogs out and just watching them. It’s a lot of fun,” Trenton said.

In fact, working with his dogs is the most exciting part of the hunt for Trenton. He usually gets a pursuit permit for cougars, which allows him and his dogs to chase the lions, but not kill them. He said he had a harvest permit last year and didn’t even use it.

“I like working with the dogs. That’s the best part of it,” he said.

Trenton said he hasn’t been hunting his whole life, only the past few years, long enough to get hooked on the sport. He started out using other people’s dogs and finally got his own a few years back, which he then trained to hunt. Today he has four hounds and his brother, Michael, has five. The two hunt whenever they can and if Michael is unable to hunt Trenton will hunt with their friend Katlin Bell, but one person he won’t hunt with is his wife, who laughs at the idea.

“I personally think its crazy. I just look at the pictures and I help doctor the dogs, but I don’t want to be up there. Pictures are just fine,” Danielle said.

Doctoring the dogs is one of the things that concerns Trenton the most and it is about the only time that he gets upset when hunting.

“When they’re chasing something you can’t yell at them to come back, once they catch the scent there’s no stopping them. A lot of the dogs don’t have it in them to hunt but a lot of them do and they could get tore up and you could put them on a track and they would go again,” Trenton said.

It is the determination of his dogs that fascinates Trenton and keeps him worried when he loses a dog on the mountain, which can happen because the dogs will not give up until they have the lion treed. That sometimes puts them in ticklish situations.

“There have been times when the only way the lion could come out was right over us,” Trenton said.

While many believe that there are a large number of lions in the area, Trenton said he doesn’t believe it is the case.

“There used to be quite a few. You used to be able to go up and cut a track every weekend, but not so much now,” Trenton said.

But there’s still enough lions in the area to keep Trenton and his dogs on the chase every chance he gets, although there are occasions when he wonders if it’s worth it.

“Sometimes when you’re up there with snow past your knees you wonder if it’s worth it, but by the next week, it’s worth it,” Trenton said with a smile.