Apex predators spotted in extremely rare Yellowstone sighting. See ‘special moment’
A pair of apex predators prowl across Yellowstone National Park’s ridgeline in an extremely rare sighting captured in a stunning video.
The “special moment” came during the second day of a private wildlife photography tour in the park, MacNeil Lyons of Yellowstone Insight said on his tour company’s social media pages on Jan. 28.
The day had already started out “amazing,” with the group spotting “frost-covered bison” — “but as luck would have it, a pair of cougars/mountain lions showed up in Yellowstone’s Northern Range,” he said in the video’s caption.
“High in elevation, between craggy peaks these two sauntered on the ridge line with a backlit ‘bluebird’ sky,” he said. “...“One sat and peered over the edge of a large snow (cornice). We had our time with them for at least 20 minutes.”
The video shows the mountain lions climbing along the snowy peak, the ends of their long tails swishing as they look out over the landscape.
“On top of the world!!” someone commented under the video on Facebook.
Another person called it a “bucket list moment.”
“Just a beautiful moment in time on a cold winter day in the elevations of Yellowstone National Park,” Lyons told McClatchy News over the phone on Feb. 4.
It’s rare to see mountain lions in the park or in the wild and even more rare to see two of them traveling together. Lyons told McClatchy News he suspects the pair could be a female with her subadult offspring.
“I would say not the most common location to see wild cougars, but as an apex predator in the ecosystem they do have free rein across all elevations!” he said in the post’s caption, adding that the lions could be the same pair spotted days earlier hunting a herd of mountain goats. “They were on the prowl today as they slowly covered the landscape, stopping frequently to observe the upcoming ridge before approaching.”
“Amazing! When I first started visiting the park I was told that they were there but (were) like ghosts because even Rangers never saw them,” someone commented under the Facebook video. “This is so cool!!!”
An estimated 30 or 40 mountain lions are known to live in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, according to park officials.
Over 25 years of living in Montana, Lyons said the pair marked his 36th and 37th wild cougar sightings.
“We need these Wild Places. But more importantly the entire 4-legged, feathered and scaled community needs this wild space,” the photographer said. “Pay attention to new state & federal laws that lessen the protection of our Public Lands. Times are changing and … seemingly not to the benefit of those without a voice…the animal community. Be their voice for protection and ethical stewardship of these wild spaces.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Apex predators spotted in extremely rare Yellowstone sighting. See ‘special moment’."
