Animal enthusiast stunned after trail camera captures footage of mountain lions

An animal enthusiast was delighted after a trail camera captured footage of creatures they had never seen in the area. 

The video first shows one mountain lion walking through the shrubbery before a second joins it. A comment from the original poster shared that the trail camera that captured the footage is in Western Montana. 

"Have not seen you before," they wrote. "And it looks like you're not alone."

Have not seen you before
byu/JustALazyProgrammer intrailcam

(Click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear.)

Mountain lions — also known as cougars, pumas, catamounts, painters, and panthers, among other names — are known to be elusive and mostly solitary. They live and travel alone, and they are only with another when mating or when a mother has kittens. 

The cats once lived throughout the United States, but their range has shrunk drastically, and they are now found in only 15 states in the western U.S., according to the Mountain Lion Foundation. 

Some western populations have been known to wander to the East Coast, but as the National Wildlife Federation reported, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar, a subspecies of mountain lion, extinct in 2011. 

While the remaining population is not listed as threatened, and its solitary nature and large range make it hard to know exact numbers, it has significantly decreased from historic levels. This reduction is attributed to actions such as trophy hunting, retaliation for livestock killings, and habitat loss and fragmentation. 

Sightings have become more common as habitat loss drives animals into unlikely places, including urban areas, in search of food or new, safe territories, but they are still fairly uncommon. 

Trail camera footage is an exciting and safe way to see the wild cats in their natural habitat. It also helps with conservation efforts. By recording elusive wildlife, the technology can provide data on behavior patterns, population sizes, and range, among other things. 

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Fellow trail cam viewers were understandably excited about the original poster's on-camera catch. 

"Cool video!" one commented. 

"They can have a huge range," another said about the elusive cats. "We have some that seem to come by and then be gone for months." 

"Absolutely amazing!" one more agreed. 

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