The nearly new moon, lit up with earthshine, setting on a very dark night...  Around midnight, right after Patti returned from the restroom, she heard a scuffle outside our tent, and something banged the picnic table. I woke up to terrible shrieking mixed with occasional deep growls and clattering of hooves on the roadway.  We huddled in horror in the tent as a mountain lion apparently subdued and killed a deer just outside. After about five minutes the noises dimmed as the lion carried the deer away. The next morning we could find no footprints or signs of struggle outside, but a few other campers confirmed our story. We told the ranger and were interviewed by the park naturalist.