Mountain Lion Mother-Kitten Adventures

Today, I want to tell you about the travels of a mountain lion mother and kitten. One afternoon recently, I captured a series of photos and videos of the pair.

You've already seen a few still photos from their escapades, the ones where the kitten knocked a trail camera off the tree.

I made a video of all of their travels that afternoon (I spent many hours learning to use the new iMovie to do this - ugh!).

I want to point out a few special moments in the video before showing it so you'll be alert to what's happening. I was amazed to see the part where the mother mountain lion appeared to be teaching the kitten to be alert and pay attention. She arrived at one camera first, and she appeared to hide on the side of the trail, awaiting her kitten.

Then, she leaped onto her kitten as s/he arrived. The mother was either being very playful or teaching the kitten an important lesson.

Another fascinating moment occurred at the next camera they visited. A deer had been through about 8 hours earlier.

When the lion pair arrived, they made a beeline for the spot where the deer had emerged from the forest.

Last but not least, there were the sweet moments in front of one camera where the mountain lions appeared to let down their guard. The lay and rolled on the ground together.

There's no way to see this side of mountain lions without using remote trail cameras. I adore getting glimpses like these ones!

Without further ado, you can watch the video either here or at Youtube.

It comes with the Shyla Seal of Approval!

 Happy Weekend!

Beautiful Animals and a Thief

I love my trail cameras. They let me see what is going on in the forest, with a view that an actual human can never see because they scare the animals when they're around.

I've fallen behind in telling you about the very large numbers of mountain lions I've captured photos of recently. This was one of three occasions where I captured two lions together. I never saw the whole body of the second one so I'm not sure if they're a mother-kitten pair or a mating pair.

I'm guessing that they were a mating pair, because male mountain lions scrape the ground frequently, like in the next photo. This adult lion is in the process of kicking back with each hind foot, to leave a territorial "scrape". There's no reason for a male lion to be with another lion, except for mating.

For the following month, a mother deer and her fawns hung out in this spot. Aren't they incredibly cute?

And then, the top predator was back again. He sniffed the ground.

And then he carefully sniffed the low hanging tree branches. I'm betting that the deer had rubbed against them during their visits.

On the same night, I believe that the same mountain lion visited another "marking spot" that our lions are drawn to. I love this view... he looks so long and lithe.

Alas, today, I went out to check a favorite trail camera, and my faith in humankind was shaken again. The camera was gone - stolen. Some lowlife person must have seen it earlier in the summer, and then returned with tools for cutting the lock. So, it was "premeditated" theft.

It's amazing how I continue to be surprised by the downright mean behavior of some of our fellow humans. I should have learned by now that some people have no ethics. Instead, when I saw the camera's spot empty, I just stood there, feet stuck to the ground, as I attempted to digest the "news" that my camera had been stolen. I was shocked.

Just like last time this happened, I will not let the bad people win. Unlike when the first theft occurred, I now have a system in place that might help me get the camera back. The first time this happened to me, I had naively assumed that no one would ever steal a trail camera. Ha! I have some hope this time because I was prepared for it to happen again.

We will try to bounce back and forge forward, just like Sweet Shyla.

A Wet Summer

Thanks for all of the suggestions and encouragement during my time of computer chaos. I think that I have a blogging system that will work until I have my own computer in my hands!

This is one of the wettest summers in out area that I can remember. We often have clouds and moisture even first thing in the morning.

One plus side is that we mountain folks are not on edge about wildfires. The past few years have been incredibly stressful in that regard. Last summer at this time, everyone in our neighborhood listened to scanners so they'd know early if a fire broke out. Indeed, I found lightning-triggered wildfires that were just starting twice in the past two summers.

Shyla and I have been out every morning together recently. It had rained on and off since yesterday afternoon so we both got soaked from the wet tall grass and bushes during our mountain bike ride this morning. The only advantage to getting so soaked is the lack of fire danger!

The next photo was at the very end of our ride this morning. I was freezing cold from being soaked but Shyla loves this type of weather. It makes her fly!

Another plus to all this rain is that most of the plant-eating animals are doing really well. My trail cameras have seen lots of activity. I recently captured a photo of a worried looking fawn with her mom.

The fawn had good reason to be worried. A sow with a cub had been in this spot the previous day and then again the day after this. Black bears do prey on fawns but I suspect that this one is too big and agile for a bear to take it down.

I'll share more of the footage of this mother bear and her cub in an upcoming post!

Coyote wriggling post

I love coyotes. They are the most resilient wild canines that I can imagine. For some reason, they've chosen one spot, in front of one of my wildlife cameras, as their "snow wriggling spot" this year. It started when the female coyotes went into heat (around February 13), and has continued ever since. Notice the dates on the photos.

Does the next one look like the "Cheoah Snow Slide" to anyone else?

This coyote just realized that his photo was being taken...

There are many many more photos than those three because the coyotes have wriggled in this spot almost every night recently. Our R has wriggled there once (the only time he was there). I chose to put my camera in this spot because there are numerous bobcat markings underneath the snow. I was hoping to get lots of bobcat photos...

By "bobcat markings", I mean scraped spots with bobcat scat in them. However, I doubt that's what is making the canines wriggle. I suspect the wriggling is a form of communication by leaving their scent in the snow.

It makes me think that, when our dogs wriggle in the snow, it might have more meaning than we think. They might not simply be acting silly!

I am also thrilled to see that the deer and elk are returning to our forest as the snow is starting to melt. I saw part of the elk herd today, too far away for a photo. And, I spotted a small group of deer (and they spotted me).

Photos like the next one are why I strive to be in the forest during the "magic" hours around dawn and dusk.

I love our Duo.

A hike and the wildlife

From the moment that we headed out the door onto our trails this morning, K just wanted to slide and wriggle in the snow. You can also see her "bad" leg in the photo below. The radiation really did a number on her fur but the radiation burn is gradually healing. Her radiation treatment was almost 5 weeks ago.

K was slightly limping today which, of course, sent me into a tizzy of worrying about whether her tumors are stirring or if she had injured the weakened bone. She still seemed happy but I think that her leg was hurting when she walked or ran. She's holding it funny, resting it on a snow pile, in the photo below but looks normal otherwise.

It was a gray day, except for a few flashes of sunshine. I took some photos when the sun rained down on us.

K chose one stick and carried it for much of our hike. Sticks are in short supply right now because most of them are buried under a deep layer of snow. The fact that K was playing with a stick told me that she wasn't feeling too bad.

We kept the hike short, in deference to K's minor limp and the fact that I was not feeling great either. I'm sure that you don't need me to tell you this - but having a dog with a deadly form of cancer isn't easy emotionally. I read far too much into every tiny thing, feeling as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's easy to say that we will keep a laser-like focus on *today* and not worry about the future until it gets here... but it's far harder to stay true to that attitude day-in and day-out. We just do the best that we can.

Before finishing our hike, we checked a couple of wildlife cameras. I actually got some photos!!! That's headline news given the depth of snow covering our forest floor.

A mule deer buck walked carefully in my snowshoe tracks and stopped to check out my wildlife camera. It amazes me how quickly animals notice the cameras, even in daylight when the cameras don't emit any light. The cameras are small and most humans don't notice them (although the cameras are posted are well away from human trails).

This deer had battered antlers. His left one was broken off very low. And, his right one looks almost as if it had bled from its base. If you look closely, you can see a reddish-orange substance in a ring around the antler close to the spot where he'll eventually shed the antler. I don't know if this is normal.

Then, he sauntered in front of the camera, giving us a nice view of his left tarsal gland. It's the red spot on his left hind leg that looks almost like a wound. It secrets chemicals that interact with the deer's urine (yes, he pees on his leg intentionally) to create his own "signature" scent.

Finally, at the very end of our hike, we discovered that a coyote had visited the area under our bear-proof birdfeeding station. In the photo, he was following my snowshoe trail out of the clearing. Do you see how deep that snow is? The fluffy coyote's head barely peeked over the edge of the trail. Life isn't easy for the wild animals right now.

I admire the wildlife who have stayed in the area despite the snow. I believe that our larger animals, like our elk and mountain lions, are staying at lower elevations. I can't wait for them to return!

Following K's Lead

It's ironic - K has cancer but some days I'm the one slowing us down. She was ready to romp this morning! She especially loves our hikes these days because they're the only times when she can take off the "cone of shame". I can imagine that she might like to hike continuously all day to avoid having to wear the cone. I wish that I had the spirit of K!

Getting out into the sunrise light is a motivator for me, and we briefly saw the sun shine this morning.

K explored and reveled in the morning as I plodded along behind her. You can almost see in this photo that her radiation burn on her left forelimb is healing thanks to the medicines and the cone to protect it.

For a long time, K has acted as an unofficial "service dog" for me. I've had unrelenting spine problems for as long as I can remember. After one of my spine surgeries, I trained K to help me with some everyday tasks. For example, I was unable to reach the ground for months after the surgery, which led to some difficult situations when I dropped things. I trained K to respond to "Oops!" as a cue to pick up whatever I'd dropped and give it to me.

As we hiked today, I dropped my hat by accident. K was ready to help!

She seemed to say "Come on, take it!" as I took her photo. As she held my hat and looked at me imploringly, the thought flashed through my mind that I have no idea how I'm going to find my way without K's amazing spirit to lead me, when that dark time comes.

I actually was grateful for her help with the hat. I had procedure on my back yesterday that left me sore and tired. K could reach the ground far more easily than I could this morning! My back is now happier... I rode my snow bike on trails today which always eases the back spasms and pains.

K and I checked a couple of trail cameras during our hike and discovered some activity. A group of six mule deer does passed one camera where the snow had melted, leaving easy terrain for walking.

A bobcat hunted under our bear-proof birdfeeding station.

And, a coyote made a fearsome face while approaching our birdfeeding station. I'm guessing that another coyote was just outside the camera's view wilting under the ferocious stare of this coyote.

I believe that the female wild canines are currently in heat... probably leading to higher tensions among their ranks and the snarling face in the photo. I'm basing this on the observation that a female coyote urinated in front of our "birdfeeder trail camera" the other night. The urine spot was dark crimson with blood. The next morning, the spot drew R like a magnet, and he rolled in it.

I looked back through my journal and saw that the coyotes were leaving bloody urine at about this time last year. Their gestation period is 9 weeks so pups would be born in early April, just in time for the start of warmer weather.

Yes, signs of springtime, including coyotes being in heat, have abounded for the past few days. Now, a snowstorm is moving in, and the woodpeckers will stop drumming, the chickadees will stop singing spring songs, and the robins will retreat to lower elevations. The Labraduo will have a blast romping in the snow.

I'll try my best not to be overprotective of my K in the snow. It's time for her to live joyfully and for me to follow her lead.

Sunrise blazes and wildlife stirs

K and I started our morning hike early enough to see the mountains bathed in the light of the rising sun. I have to admit that, since K's cancer diagnosis, I've had trouble dragging myself out of bed early enough for sunrise, probably due to the blues. Seizing this morning was an inspiration - I enjoyed it so much!

We also witnessed the sunrise itself. It was so quiet and peaceful without much wind. The only sound was a confused chickadee who was singing his springtime courting song. Sorry, mister, but spring ain't here yet!

I'm grateful for every single sunrise that K and I have the good luck to see together. None of us knows how many we have left in our lives... so I appreciate each one. K's fur took its "sunrise red hue" that I love so much.

K didn't seem to want to stay still for long. We started exploring, enjoying the fact that a few patches of ground are visible for the first time in a long time!

K's energy level is good but not as high as a week ago. I've found myself worrying about her more, wondering what the evil cells are doing inside her. I think that fretting is par for the course, and I'll probably see false meaning in every yawn and cough in the coming weeks and months.

We're doing everything within our power to fight the cancer. Now, we need to enjoy each day rather than worry (yes, this is a little pep talk directed at myself). We have a few more days before her next chemo treatment on Friday.

K looked very happy when she ran this morning, and I smiled along with her. Look at the sunrise reflected in her eye.

In the places with snow, I could see fresh animal tracks - showing me that the wildlife is stirring again, particularly overnight when the snow is firmer and easier to travel on than in the sunlight. My trail camera captured a big buck in the middle of the forest...

... a coyote walking furtively down our driveway...

... and a bobcat following suit. I think that this photo shows the kitten from the pair who we followed this summer. I'm basing my guess on his paw size relative to his body size and on his slightly more spotted and lighter coat than the adult who walked our driveway the other night.

It's good to know that some wildlife have survived our relatively tough winter so far, and that the ones in my photos look healthy. The bobcats look as if they've been eating well. The indomitable spirit of the bobcat lives on!