Wildlife reactions to scent of a mountain lion

Mountain lions have regularly scent marked spot under some pine trees for years. They kick back with each hind paw, creating furrows in the pine needles. They kick up dirt and pine needles that pile up at the back of the furrows. That mound is what catches my eye and tells me that a mountain lion has visited.

Here is a mountain lion marking the spot, kicking back with his left hind paw...

... and then with his right hind paw.

 He repeated this sequence ten times!!! He may have urinated in the furrows.

Many mountain lions have marked this spot over the years. It must have an overwhelming scent to wildlife and domestic dogs, all of whom check this spot and often mark it themselves.

A few recent visitors to the spot caught my eye. First, a bull elk sniffed it extensively during the rut. He must have recently attacked a pine tree as crazed bulls tend to do and was wearing one of its boughs over his neck.

Next, a feisty bobcat came along... He sniffed the scrape and then had the courage to leave his own mark over top of it. He is so much smaller than a mountain lion, making this act of defiance hard to believe!

Next up, a small group of coyotes visited. One sniffed the lion scrape.

He immediately started leaving his own scent mark. He's the one in the background of the next photo.

When the coyote trio was assembled, they appeared to look around to see if the lion was nearby.

Not everyone agrees with me but I think that coyotes are gorgeous creatures.

I compiled the footage into video of these visitors which I hope that you enjoy.