Yellowstone Visitors Capture Rare Encounter with Two Mountain Lions
Yellowstone National Park, famed for its dramatic landscapes and iconic wildlife, is a haven for nature lovers, brobible reports.
Despite hosting a variety of animals, sightings of the elusive mountain lion are exceedingly rare. These stealthy big cats, also known as cougars, are estimated to number around 2,000 across Wyoming — roughly 1.7 mountain lions per 100 square kilometers. However, their preference for solitude and camouflage makes spotting them a rarity.
Last week, visitors on a two-day wildlife photography tour with Yellowstone Insight had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in the park’s Northern Range. They captured footage of not just one but two mountain lions moving gracefully across snow-covered peaks under a clear, blue sky.
As the cougars disappeared from the initial vantage point, the tour group leader from Yellowstone Insight made a strategic decision to move a few miles down the road, hoping to spot them again. Their gamble paid off.
“Our luck continued as we picked them up as one sat and peered over the edge of a large snow cornice,” the guide wrote on Instagram.
The group was able to observe the majestic creatures for about 20 minutes — a remarkable experience given the cats’ elusive nature.
Footage and images from the sighting quickly went viral on social media. Experts believe the two cougars could be either a mating pair or a mother with a near-adult offspring that has yet to venture out on its own.
Yellowstone Insight’s guide noted that the two cougars were only the 36th and 37th individual wild mountain lions he had seen in 25 years of living in Montana. Such a statement underscores just how rare it is to spot these animals in the wild, particularly in Yellowstone.
In addition to the cougar sighting, the group captured photos of snow-covered bison during their private photography tour. Yellowstone Insight offers various experiences, including wildlife, photography, hiking, and geology tours, with private photography tours ranging from $850 to $1,250 per day depending on group size.
