It is electric exhilaration to discover the fresh track of a mountain lion after searching miles and miles of pockmarked snow. The sun shines brighter, and fatigue washes away. A single impression in snow becomes the tangible startpression starting point for a string that extends somewhere out of sight and ends with the mountain lion itself. If you are persistent and lucky and very quiet, you might follow the trail and glimpse the big cat in repose. But if you want to catch the mountain lion, that footprint is where you release scent-trailing hounds.
For 20 years, I’ve been working side by side or with hound hunters to catch mountain lions in order to conduct research that supports conservation. Mountain lions are short, shorter than people think, and stocky. They have stout, strong legs, and a thick, sinuous tail that feels like corded steel in the hand. They come in varied hues of brown and yellow and rusty orange. They can even be a pale gray that mimics the weathered stone in Patagonia. Their faces are adorned with darker patterns that are generally unique to an individual.
Their large eyes weigh you in an instant — you actually feel them looking at you, considering you. Their thin fur is soft and smells of fresh wind carrying pine. They are curious but ruled by caution. They are poised and handsome. They are intelligent, and sometimes unnerving when they choose to watch you rather than run away. But they are rarely aggressive, and instead avoid confrontations at all costs. That said, not all mountain lions behave in the same way.
The hounds leap forth following the trail, howling and bawling with noses held low, filling their nostrils with scent. We pursue
Their large eyes weigh you in an instant — you actually feel them looking at you, considering you. Their thin fur is soft and smells of fresh wind carrying pine. They are curious but ruled by caution. They are poised and handsome. They are intelligent, and sometimes unnerving when they choose to watch you rather than run away. But they are rarely aggressive, and instead avoid confrontations at all costs. That said, not all mountain lions behave in the same way.
The hounds leap forth following the trail, howling and bawling with noses held low, filling their nostrils with scent. We pursue
