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Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Winter Wildlife Visitors to a Mountain Lion Scrape

The short window of time when I could visit some snowed-in trail cams gave me such joy.  I saw how normal life has gone on for the wildlife in our world even in the past month.

A favorite cam is pointed at an area under a pine canopy where mountain lions mark frequently. All sorts of animals visited and sniffed the scrape including a black bear with a pot belly. This was just before he went into his den for the winter.

We also had visits from birds, mice, fox, skunks, and deer.

Of course, mountain lions visited it. One video clip actually scared me. As I sat on the pine needles getting a first peek at the footage, suddenly a clip came up where the lion was SO close. His nose was just inches from where I was sitting. To me, it spoke of the raw power of these animals who avoid us so carefully. After the initial surge of adrenaline, my rational mind took over, and the fear gave away to awe. Here's a photo from that clip.

I hope that you have time to check out the video.

To those of you who have trail cams, this speaks to being patient. Over the whole winter, this cam got only 19 video clips good enough to share. If I'd been nervously checking it frequently, I might have been discouraged. A whole winter's worth of footage showed that it's worth giving it time.

23 comments:

  1. From the massive bear, a lion squatting for a long time, a real close up, a set of videos so worth the wait. Hope your days are warmer than those were.

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  2. Oh, that lion was so close! I can imagine how your adrenaline would have kicked into overdrive! :))

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  3. how much our cats are related with this mighty animals... same litter box movements ;O)

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  4. What wonderful wildlife parade you have compiled for us. Thank you for your patience! There is something calming and patient too about the way the mountain lion goes about his scraping business. And as for the bear, he appears to have what we in the UK would describe as a beer gut!
    Cheers, Gail.

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  5. What a fabulous video! The mountain lion was so close we could have almost reached out to touch him.

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  6. Hari OM
    Wonderful, wonderful, wildlife!!! YAM xx

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  7. The footage on that trail cam was worth the wait. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  8. I am going to look like that bear, if we don't get out soon. that upclose lion shot is stunning and he looks fierce. i am also looking like a bear and feeling like a lion. i should be acting like the happy little bird... well worth the wait to get these videos

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  9. Pretty amazing! Do you think that pot-bellied bear was pregnant?

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  10. You surely picked the best of the videos to share.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  11. Wow, so amazing.

    Have a fabulous day, my friend. Scritches to the pups. ♥

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  12. You have certainly found the perfect place for a trail camera. Worth the wait.

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  13. I watched the video over and over. So much fun to see all the animals and what's going on when we are not around. I finally realized that the very last one was the skunk. Great editing too. I have no idea how you do that, but the result makes the various scenes flow together so well.

    In Sweden they have what's called Slow TV, it's completely unedited nature stuff. I have been watching something called the Great Annual Moose Migration. I could watch for hours and never see a moose, but other critters do appear. And, of course, I don't watch for hours, but fast forward hoping to catch a glimpse of a Swedish moose.

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  15. OMD, that was FABulous! I almost missed the fox, butts saw the tail at the last minute! and the waddling skunkie! SO worth the wait!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  16. Wow these photos are so beautiful!!! You were so close to these beautiful mammals and I love it!

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  17. The close up is so amazing! I'm sure being patient and checking cameras every few months is the best idea. That bear with the pot belly is so funny. Too bad humans can't hibernate right now for a few months, it would be a wonderful solution to the problem.

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  18. I love these compilations. It's so amazing to see these animals up close...some more than others. I would have thought that the deer and smaller animals would avoid areas where predators would leave their mark but apparently that's not the case.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Wow! The up close cougar, ooops mountain lion, was amazing.

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