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Friday, March 13, 2020

Screaming in the Forest

Some days, it is tempting to find an isolated corner of the forest and scream.

Well, a mountain lion has beat us to it. One female lion has chosen her spot for screaming under the sprawling branches of a Ponderosa Pine tree. She spent many nights of February caterwauling under that tree.

My reading says that female mountain lions caterwaul when they are in estrus. The odd thing is that I believe that this is the same mountain lion as we heard caterwauling back in January. Estrus is supposed to last a week at most. Then, there's supposed to be a couple of month delay before they go back into estrus if they didn't get pregnant. So, I'm puzzled by her behavior.

Perhaps her life is too stressful right now so she is blowing off steam by screaming.

Enjoy the video. Be sure to have the sound on to hear her sounds.


27 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    ...or it was longer than you thought between screams? &*> Either way, nice nature vignette! YAM xx

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  2. wow that was impressing... the boys look now where the lion is LOL

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  3. She's sick of the snow and having her feet be cold and wet?! She certainly is not happy.

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  4. it amazes me that she sounds a lot like cats in the neighborhood when they do the same thing. maybe a little louder but not much. she is a beauty.

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  5. Yep, sometimes ya just gotta shout it out!

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  6. With her pacing around that area, it's almost like she's saying "I lost something and can't find it." Great video!

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  7. MOL MOL MOL MOL what an itty bitty voice for such a grand Feline. If Angel Madi's supper was not severed promptly at 4 pm..she would look for me, find me and start her ritual of prancing and very loud meowing....
    at least as loud as the mountain lion.
    I'm always amazed at the Eagles voice too
    Hugs Cecilia

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  8. Not that's a feline and then some. Beautiful. She does have lots of words though. I'm glad the bunny got away.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend. Scritches to the pups. ♥

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  9. What was she smelling? And looking for? The heaped mounds of snow? Hope she is happier soon, love the calls, just like one of our cats.

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    1. The heaps of snow are scrapes left by male lions so I bet that she was sniffing pheromones.

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  10. Another great video of animals we otherwise would not see. Thank you for sharing it and the others.

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  12. Mitzie was curious where the crying was coming from.
    She sure was load, I feel sorry for her.
    Maybe we"ll see cubs in the spring/early summer

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  13. The dogs didn't even look up when the 'cat' screamed.

    Isn't there some Primal Scream Therapy recommended for well-being?

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  14. I can totally relate to the mountain lion lately...LOL. What a beautiful cat, I sure hope she finds the right guy!

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  15. Mommy raised teenage girl who did a lot of caterwauling.

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  17. What an interesting video. We hope she finds a mate to satisfy her soon.

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  18. KB, have you ever heard a mountain lion scream? The "scream like a woman in terror" scream reported by others? I continue to be impressed by the vocalizations you capture on these wildlife cams (especially the chirps!), and have always wondered what the full-out scream sounds like (and its context). Not sure I'd like to hear it in real life...!

    Cheers,
    Chris from Boise

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    1. As I've searched online, I have not found the "scream". Have you? I have heard a screech owl who I was totally convinced was a person in terror.

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  19. This is great footage - is that term still in use, now that images aren't measured in a linear way? ha! - but to me, it sounds like this lion is pretty much talking to herself. Some (much) smaller cats do it, too :)

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    1. I just saw Chris's comment, and that's what I was getting at...the sound this lion was making could only be interpreted as a cat (I think) whereas I've been told the "scream" is terrifying because it sounds exactly like a human.

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  20. Smart kitty, finding such a good way to blow off some steam! I think we could all use that these days! :)

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  21. I agree with Jan, we could all use a safe spot to do a bit of screaming at this time!

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  22. That is OUTSTANDING! And I secretly rooted for the bunny who got away at the beginning...

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