Former Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe, who claimed he killed a predatory mountain lion using a bow and arrow, has been harshly criticized for posing with the carcass.
Wolfe claimed on Instagram on Thursday that he fell from a 10-foot rockface as he descended from the mountain with the carcass. He said he got a call from someone asking if he wanted to stalk a mountain lion that had been “wreaking havoc in a rural neighborhood.”
“He had already killed two of her dogs and was living under her porch, nervous [about] what he might do next,” Wolfe, who is 6’5”, wrote. “We found a fresh 4×4 mule deer he had just killed. We hiked straight up 2500 ft and down the other side, then back up again, back down the other side and then back up again to 9600 ft.”
“Exhausted, dehydrated, cramping I drew back my @hoytbowhunting and sent an @sevrbroadheads through him,” Wolfe continued. “Then I had to crawl backwards down the mountain with him to get him to the truck I fell 10 ft off a rock face on the way down lol. Any guess how big this thing was?”
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Some social media users took Wolfe to task, with comments such as these:
- “Mountain lions don’t terrorize. They survive. Humans, like one of the most disappointing high draft choices of the Broncos terrorize. Shame on you for celebrating this.”
- “Imagine living in a ‘rural neighborhood’ of a ‘mountain town’ and thinking that your [sic] being ‘terrorized’ by a mountain lion.”
- “Grant is not a city. When you live in rural Colorado you sign up for living WITH wildlife. There are guidelines for NOT making your dogs a food source. Go back to Kentucky.”
Others had a different perspective:
- “Get him back on the team right now.”
- “I guess a Wolfe is more bad*** than a lion.”
- “Mountain lion hunting season is now. He had a permit. The state of Colorado manages the mountain lion population thru hunting permits. Pertinent details that should’ve been included in the report.”
Wolfe played for the Denver Broncos between 2012-2019, then signed with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2022, he signed a one-day contract with the Broncos so he could retire in Denver.
“I’m happy to be done with the game because (the injuries) were piling up and I know my wife is very happy not to have to watch me crawl into the shower every morning,” he stated. “It was just getting bad, so it was time to call it … I get to be a father; I get to be a husband. I get to focus on those things now. … My daughter, she just turned 3 years old and I get to play with her and hang out with her.”