Kat's Mountain Lion Photos (Trail Camera Photography)

…

"I thought they were strictly stealthy nocturnal."

That is the word put out by the publicist for the local mountain lions union, and the deer believe it.

–B.G.–

Keep 'em coming, Kat. Very cool.

I like the first picture. Under side of jaw.

Kat, thanks so much for sharing the great pictures! My grand daughter is one of your biggest fans. We also enjoy scrolling through the Jay Wilkerson "UL Creatures" thread along with the slide shows made from my own trips.
Keep them coming!

Thanks everyone for the support.

Why not…
Here are some I retrieved today.

First time I get him in the daytime. I thought it might be the same male I got a while back, but this one lacks the cut in the ear. I have proof that it's a male, but I'll spare you.

This is a comparison between a young female and this guy, in the same spot

He has a cut on his face, which he could have gotten from whatever he wanted/had for dinner. A fight with another cat would have left him more than just the one cut. He also looks like he ate recently.

Now what is a mystery to me is that anything I have read, including research papers on the local population, says that females are more likely to share territory, or at least overlap. I now have six different males and just the one female here.
Sunday I get to set a couple of cameras on the next mountain over, where a friend has seen them frequently and recently lost their big dog to a cougar. He still loves the cats and is allowing me to set cameras only to see what we get; he is not at all into killing it.
Maybe I will get another female over there.

I wonder if there are mountain lions wandering around at night when I'm camping?

Maybe I should set up a camera? Or maybe I don't want to know : )

I understand that dilemma…..I had no idea of many, how often they are right here.
Still the most fun I have had, maybe ever!

"Still the most fun I have had, maybe ever!"
And thanks again for sharing that fun with us. This thread is amazing.

Thanks for letting me share these and appreciating them, William.

Just wanted to let you know, I have been lurking around here for a few weeks learning a ton, and after enjoying this entire series, it is you, Kat, who made it worth registering with BPL. I appreciate you sharing the fruits of your labor with all of us, even people like me who just read. And, thanks for getting me involved here :). Looking forward to more images!

Thanks so much Brian!

My Caribou pictures are too big to upload so I am waiting to shrink them, sigh….but these I just got off my cameras today are ready. I have many more night time ones, but this male after a fight are a little different then the rest. This guy is much larger than the females I get.

Yeah, but you should see the other guy!

(sorry, it just had to be said :)… but on a serious note, those are pretty impressive pictures)

"Yeah, but you should see the other guy!"

Or girl. Rule number one of courtship: Never try to kiss a lady who doesn't want to be kissed. ;0)

They get hurt by prey too. Imagine having an elk kick you in the teeth!

Sorry, wrong "elk herd" photo :)

A lot going on in just one area . Last Thursday that injured male, then Monday afternoon the young female. This morning right around the corner, with a cheap camera, I have a video at 3:40 am of a collared male and at 6:30 am of another male, non collared and not the injured one.

Here is the female, looking surprised at the camera

Here is a size comparison. In the middle is old "Spotty" this afternoon as we checked the camera together. He is about 70 pounds. The legs on the cats are pretty impressive.

The last photo, number 4/5… the cat looks like it has blood or something on the side of its mouth. Prey blood or its own blood?

–B.G.–

The young female is not the one I was getting last year all over the place.
Here is the one last year, about 15 yards from this new camera spot

She has a small split in her ear that remains to this day. She now comes by less often and I have not seen her in a while. She could be having a litter in a more remote area.

I find all this very interesting and learning about them is exciting

Bob, he also has an injured ear and other pictures show more cuts on the body. He got into a fight.

holey cow… how have I never found this thread before? This is spectacular Kat! You should consider talking to a mountain lion expert about the overlap you are getting with male lions. That seems like it would be publishable information.

Great photos and great information. Thanks!

Local Tribe just got a super rare trail cam of a Mountain Caribou.

"Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services fudges on the issue, the mountain caribou is the rarest big game species in the United States and therefore the most endangered.

So capturing a photo of a Selkirk mountain caribou isn't just a big deal, says Kalispel Tribe wildlife biologist Bart George — It's “The Holy Grail for trail cam pictures!”"

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/oct/17/trail-cam-captures-shot-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Hard to believe it was a year ago that I was getting my first pictures.

This is the new ruling male around here. Since the bloody fight he is making the rounds and scraping everywhere.

This is from this morning. Young female took a nap inches from the camera

She is on the ground

Her paw

Stirring a bit

These are from yesterday morning. This trailcamera keeps resetting the date to 2013….

No idea which kitty this is but I do not want to meet it.

At this point I am getting pictures every week. Most of them are night, from behind, grainy, eyes too shiny, sideways, etc. Maybe one in a hundred is a decent shot.