Mountain lions (also called pumas and cougars in different parts of the world) are extremely rare within Yellowstone National Park.
For reference, the total amount of bison within the park is estimated to fall somewhere in between 4,000 and 6,000. During peak seasons at Yellowstone, the elk population can reach as high as 20,000. So how many mountain lions call the national park home?
Between 34 and 42.
Basically, if you visit Yellowstone National Park and you see one, you won the lottery. The prize might not be in cash form, but you can still say that you saw one of the most elusive creatures that lives within Yellowstone. To be honest, seeing one anywhere is quite the rare occurrence for the average person, and as the old saying goes… if you see a mountain lion in the wild, it probably saw you first. Regardless, it’s something that’s truly priceless (winning money is great too though, just to be frank).
If you can say seeing one is like winning the lottery, then seeing two at the same time is almost unfathomable – but not impossible. A wildlife guide with Yellowstone Insight was traversing the snowy park as a part of a photography tour, and they just so happened to be at the right place at the right time (or they’re the world’s best tour guide) to see not one, but TWO mountain lions in the wild.
And according to their post, they were only two days into the tour:
“Day two of a private Wildlife Photography Tour started amazing with frost-covered bison. But as luck would have it, a pair of cougars/mountain lions showed up in Yellowstone’s Northern Range. High in elevation, between craggy peaks these two sauntered on the ridge line with a backlit ‘bluebird’ sky!
As the lions went out of view from one vantage point, I read the landscape and moved a few miles down the road to try a different vantage point. Our luck continued as we picked them up as one sat and peered over the edge of a large snow cornices. We had our time with them for at least 20 minutes.”
As you’ll see in the footage that was captured below, it was absolutely stunning to see the two apex predators together atop the snowy peak. The wildlife photographer went on to describe that it’s not normal to see the big cats in this type of environment while snow is on the ground, as they typically follow prey to lower elevations (where it’s not as laborsome to travel through the fallen wintery precipitation).
The photographer guessed that the mountain lions were either in courtship, or it was a mother traveling with a more mature youngling. And they also revealed their mountain-lion-sighting total that they’ve reached in their over two decades of living in Montana:
“I would say not the most common location to see wild cougars, but as an apex predator in the ecosystem they do have free rein across all elevations! This pair (courting pair or mom with her subadult?) might be the same seen a few days ago hunting a herd of mountain goats.
They were on the prowl today as they slowly covered the landscape, stopping frequently to observe the upcoming ridge before approaching. I can say that these two make my 36 & 37th individual wild cougar sightings over the last 25-years living in Montana.”
You can check out the remarkable video below:
Mountain lions are notoriously solitary animals, however there are times when you can spot more than one together. On the rare occasion that, as the photographer said, they’re a courting pair… meaning they’re about to mate. The other instance would be a mother with her young. Mountain lions will generally have about 3-4 kittens per litter, but only half will make it past their first year. The kittens stay with mom for about 18 to 24 months on average, and during that time you can usually find them near mom. Although, once they get closer to 2 years old, they don’t exactly look like kittens anymore.
This man in Conifer, Colorado, famously spotted four on his back porch a few years back. As you can see, the 3 kittens are just about the same size as mom, nearly ready to depart for a life on their own:
“Babies are so baby anymore…”
A man filmed a rare moment where a group of mountain lions hung out on his porch. pic.twitter.com/4eV9r1Jngr
— Storyful Viral (@StoryfulViral) December 29, 2022
