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Friday, May 16, 2014

Mountain Lions and What our Dogs Know

This was the very beginning of a crazy phase with oodles of mountain lions coming past my trail cameras.

First, on 4/16, one sniffed an area frequently marked by lions and bobcats.
Then, on 4/21, a mountain lion came past the same trail camera.
He must have leaped from his position in the previous photo to right in front of the camera because the time stamps are only 1 second apart.
I think he was sniffing the trail camera and the scent of my hands. You can see something that looks like whiskers in the upper left. I think that the rest of the photo is his neck.
More sniffing...
He decided to walk away.
He went back to sniffing the spot where all the cats mark, before departing. It turns out that this was not the only lion nearby on that night. I'll show you the other one in a upcoming post.
Many thanks to my girl, who told me that odd things were going on in our forest before I had any idea. Sniffing...
And staring...
Our dogs know so much more about the natural world than we do, mainly due to their noses and their instincts. I try very hard to read the signals that they are sending me.

21 comments:

  1. The dogs make a great surveillance team. They'll let you know.

    XXXOOO Bella & Roxy

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  2. That Shyla is one smart cookie! I'm glad you've learned to take the hints from her and heed her warnings. The lion snapshots are gorgeous!

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  3. Score another one for the pups!

    Great pictures. :)

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  4. The nose always knows! Wonderful big cat photos!

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  5. Such healthy-looking cats - and big! Take Care.

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  6. It is amazing how many animals notice the trail cameras!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  7. Great! My husband says that dogs can't read newspapers but they can sniff and know everything that went on around the house during the night.

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  8. Wow, cool shots! Dogs are great to hike with because the always sense what we don't.

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  9. wow amazing!
    and we wonder what Shyla are R think when they get a wiff of the scent. Do you think they know the mountain lions are dangerous?
    love
    tweedles

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  10. Well done Shyla, she has that extra sense to know if anything at all is different. He could not get any closer. KB, hope life is treating you better day by day, hugs and all caring thoughts, Jean.

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  11. Yay Shyla and trail cameras...lovely Mountain Lion captures!

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  12. What a great face shot of that big kitty!! Talk about up close and personal. lol Hope your having a good weekend!

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  13. I often think that Tommy thinks I am pretty lame in not being able to "sniff the obvious"!

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  14. Way to go, Shyla!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  15. They always know! I try to watch my girls very carefully, too!
    KZK

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  16. Those mountain lions are beautiful. It would probably freak me out to see something like that on our trail cam. All I ever see are deer, and the occasional fox, squirrel, raccoon and possum.

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  17. That nose in the air is a sure sign that something is up.

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