In prior posts I have alluded to partial photos we have seen on our game cams of a visiting mountain lion that has been difficult to get a full view of. Last week, we got another glimpse of the best quality picture yet of the whole cat.
The ground is mostly rock and sandy dirt that never shows a print unless it’s wet (which is probably three days out of the entire year). We’ve not seen any prints after any visits but I am holding out hope I’ll spot something someday.
My husband thinks this is a female, being smaller in stature than the larger male. If it keeps returning, we’ll definitely have to to think of a name. Fingers crossed (and thanks given, we don’t keep livestock or have animals outdoors).
Our ghost-like visitor returned this morning to set off the security camera just once, barely visible. It is the same size, same early morning hours, and same location as this first sighting earlier this year.
What baffles me is that each visit only produced one photograph. These game cam / security cams are meant to burst several takes when something comes by. The deer and pronghorn will set them off consistently, but with this mountain lion, it only seems to trigger one shot per visit.
I suppose it is too much to ask the creature to go stand in the middle of the driveway for a good picture, but we will see in the coming days and weeks if he/she humors me.
Security camera partial picture of a mountain lion in the driveway
Given we are rural folks and live up on a country hilltop in Wyoming, we have security/game cameras set up to help keep an eye on things. In the middle of the night this weekend, my phone app sent a motion alert.
I had to rub my eyes but there was the unmistakable profile of a mountain lion padding around the garage area of our property. I suspect it was moving swiftly just out of the hillside scrub, as we only got the one shot from the neck down and no more. Usually that means the animal was in and out of frame quickly.
I find mountain lions the most beautiful and majestic of wildlife out here. And they are ghosts : If they don’t want you to see them, you won’t.
Masters of camouflage and top predators, seeing one in real life has been a bucket list hope of mine since moving out here. Granted, I don’t want to be faced with a large cat on a hiking trail. But to be able to see a living one, to appreciate it’s stunning eyes and be in its presence, that’s just something I hope to safely experience.
Reality is difficult for ranchers and homesteaders where big cats can be a costly impact to livestock. Sometimes, federal predator hunters are brought in out here when a mountain lion continuously kills cows, sheep, or other animals and no other option is left. The balance between the land and livestock presence vs. the wildlife is never an easy one.
We are aware there have likely been visits to this property in times before over the years. Two or three years back, we found prints one snowy evening along the walls of the house. This is the first visual evidence of any cat itself, though. Maybe someday the opportunity will present itself I can see one in real life. To say I’ve seen and experienced one of natures most magnificent animals would be an amazing moment, indeed.
Safe and sound.
Better yet, from the car.
And just to be cautious, probably with a long lens.
