Another Brawny Mountain Lion on Patrol

In the past, mountain lions have tended to all arrive at once, around the time when the elk herd arrives to spend the winter here. Yet, I am still surprised, every single year, when we suddenly seem to have a population explosion of mountain lions.

This guy was big and brawny like the last one. Usually, one big male rules a territory, which makes me think that this might be the same lion. Perhaps he is spending an extended time in our neck of the woods because the sprawling 150-head elk herd is here.

He also marked in exactly the same spot as the last lion. Here he is in mid-marking.

This guy checked out something up the tree. I know that lions are good climbers but I've never seen one climb. Too back that this guy did only an exploratory upward movement on the tree.

After circling the clearing for a short time, he paused to gaze into the distance before departing. He's a magnificent cat!

I made a video of his visit to the clearing which you can watch here or at Youtube.