Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

A mountain lion's marking spot near his meal

I frequently hear the misconception that a mountain lion lives in a certain den or hiding place all the time. In fact, lions who don't have tiny kittens are constantly on the move. When they manage to kill a deer or elk, they will stay close to the carcass for a few days. 

When they've finished eating that meal, they move on to hunt for their next meal. This video includes an example of a mountain lion who visited a spot in the forest at least twice per day for about 3 days while he ate a cow elk that he'd successfully hunted. Then, he vanished, in pursuit of his next meal.

Over the years, a mountain lion appeared in this forest clearing about once every three months so his twice daily visits were extraordinary!

Check out the video of three days of a mountain lion "commuting" to and fro his feast. He's a big cat, and his behavior is fascinating to watch.


13 comments:

  1. wow the snow!!! it is impressing to see this big cats... every time we are surprised and we love them more and more

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, so impressive. I didn't know they kept moving after their meals. Very interesting. Also all that snow and it's hot here. Beautiful.

    Have a fabulous day. Scritches to the precious pups. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. He is certainly one handsome dude! When he looked straight into the camera the markings on his face as just absolutely beautiful. He doesn't seem to mind if it's 32 degrees are 13 degrees or if it's snowing or the sun is shining. Such a beautiful cat

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is awesome. Such a gorgeous creature.

    ReplyDelete
  5. He's certainly very thorough about tidying up after himself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. No matter their size all felines have the same behavior...just grander. Actually Mr. Mtn Lion was a wee bit tidier with his covering up that the two felines I've lived with. Angel Milky-Way would dig to the middle of the earth throwing litter about before and after his visit. Angel Madi would dig to the middle of the earth furever and leave quicker than greased lightning.
    Hugs Cecilia

    ReplyDelete
  7. What great footage of the lion commuting to his meal for a few days.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cats and their toilet habits. Some of ours would scratch and dig, then move a few feet and do it all again, and the hole had to be a specific depth. I will remember your lion and his meal, next time \I do the grocery shopping. Choose, put in the trolley, get them packed into my own bags, pay and leave.They have a hard life, and to survive have to be active and alert. Impervious to the snow and cold, he was a beauty with that thick fur and tail, loved his face.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fascinating behaviour. And good to see that the lion evidently had plenty to eat to keep him going through all that wind and snow!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree, that's one handsome cat and I'm glad they manage to survive the humans.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a magnificent creature to capture on your trailcam. Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. These big cats and my house cats exhibit some of the same behaviours; the lifting of the tail and scraping up the pine needles/kitty litter are just two. It's so neat to see the mountain lion in it's natural habitat. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!