iStockphoto / John Morrison
Yellowstone is arguably the crown jewel of our National Parks here in the US where visitors can see dramatic landscapes and iconic wildlife species alike, but spotting a mountain lion (or cougar) remains an ultra-rare experience. By some estimates, there are 2,000 cougars in Wyoming which would mean there are ~1.7 mountain lions per 100 square kilometers.
But the thing about these giant cats is they prefer not to be seen, they’d rather blend in perfectly with the surroundings using their natural camouflage and either stalk prey or avoid larger predators. So spotting not one but TWO Yellowstone mountain lions in the Northern Range was the thrill of a lifetime for the tour group Yellowstone Insight who was leading a 2-day wildlife photography tour.
Last week they captured this incredibly rare sight of two Yellowstone mountain lions frolicking on the top of snow-covered peaks with a “bluebird sky” in the background. Knowing that these cougars were moving alone, they rolled the dice and moved spots a few miles ahead in hopes of spotting them again.
On Instagram, Yellowstone Insight wrote “As the lions went out of view from one vantage point, I read the landscape and moved a few miles down the road to try a different vantage point. Our luck continued as we picked them up as one sat and peered over the edge of a large snow cornices. We had our time with them for at least 20 minutes.”
Footage of the Yellowstone two mountain lions have since gone viral. They are believed to either a mating pair traveling together or a mother-sub adult that hasn’t struck out on its own yet. Check it out:
That same account also shared a still image from the footage above along with some photos of snow-covered bison they spotted on the private 2-day wildlife photography tour.
Yellowstone Insight offers an array of tours, including Wildlife, Photography, Day Hiking, History, and Geology. The private Photography tours range in price from $850-$1,250/day, depending on group size, and multi-day tours are discounted at $50/day.
This is an extremely enticing option for my next Yellowstone trip as I’d LOVE to see a mountain lion myself. But the wildlife tour guide noted on Instagram that “these two make my 36 & 37th individual wild cougar sightings over the last 25-years living in Montana.” If that doesn’t give you a sense of how rare a Yellowstone mountain lion sighting is, I don’t know what will.