Sunset - The Labraduo and the Mountain Lion Duo

One evening recently, the Labraduo and I were enjoying a quiet evening hike up on our plateau.  R waved goodbye to the sun as it dipped toward the horizon.

And I was in awe of the deep red color that the setting sun brought out in Shyla's fur.

At almost the same time, a mother mountain lion and her kitten were in the middle of a long walk nearby. I caught footage of them at five trail camera different sites (about 600 photos and a minute of real video). I think I've figured out their favorite route!

Today, I'll share just one set of photos that is kind of funny. Here, mom is walking up a gully. She has a GPS and radio collar around her neck and tags pinned to her ears for a study she's in. She looks small. My guess is that she's a young mother.

Because she was in a shaded area, my camera went into infrared mode, glowing with a soft red flash and yielding black and white photos. Mom seemed to notice the soft red glow of the camera.

She licked her lips while she waited for her kitten.

Her kitten appeared behind her. My expert friend and I are guessing the kitten is somewhere between 4 and 8 months old.

At another camera, Kitty showed us her underside, and I'm pretty she's a girl (you'll see all the footage over the coming week or so). Kitty also focused on the camera.

For an instant, they both alerted on something else - maybe a sound in the forest. The kitten doesn't have a collar for the study (yet).

The curious kitten stared at the camera.

Her eyes squinted, as she seemed to contemplate it. I actually wish it didn't attract their attention at all. I have one camera with an invisible flash (no red glow), and I might move it to this site.

Then, Mom decided to leave, and the kitten started sniffing a spot often marked by wild cats.

Very interesting, she thought...

Then, unfortunately for me, she really focused on the camera.

With determination, she moved toward it.

And then the camera captured a whole series of photos like this one - a closeup of cat fur as the kitten rubbed very hard against the camera.

After a little while the kitten backed away, but you can see that the camera view is now skewed.

Indeed, the camera then fell to the ground, face down.

And that was how I found it. You can imagine, after the recent theft, that I felt very anxious when I glimpsed the camera lying on the ground. But, I quickly figured out that it was probably a wild animal's work because the strap holding the camera case in place had been broken. The cable lock between the camera and the tree was still intact. Phew.

When I looked at the photos, I laughed out loud. The antics of a kitten!!!!

I feel so privileged to be able to see the lives of our most elusive animals up close and personal.