A Close Encounter

Gallery: WildlifePosted July 27, 2010303 views7 comments

Something interesting happened to me yesterday which prompted me to post this image. This cougar was photographed at Northwest Trek in Washington, however while hiking in BC, I came across a muddy spot on the trail. I curiously always look for tracks, nothing. I continued up the trail and realized I was running short on time and decided I'd better head back. Just five minutes after returning to the same muddy patch I saw cougar prints in the mud, fresh as can be. I must admit it felt exhilarating knowing this stealthy feline had crossed my path so closely and may have even been watching me at the time.

The wonders of wildlife occur all around, and its so much fun to use all your senses to experience them.

Thanks for viewing and any comments.
ISO 400 1/500, f/4.5 @200mm

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by kiran khanzode on July 27, 2010 at 1:41 PM

Brr... I hear that they love to pounce on bicyclists...has something to do with the spinning wheels....

Darren, I can imagine the thrill of witnessing such an incident....and also coming across the fresh pug marks yesterday, thx for sharing this picture.

On my wishlist is to see 1 Cougar/Mountain Lion (as we call it here) in such a setting, it beats all jeep safaris in India/Africa...I am sure you agree !!

Regards,
Kiran

Registered on February 21, 2009, 83 Posts, 428 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on July 27, 2010 at 2:06 PM

Could be true about the bicycles, I remember seeing something on NatGeo Wild about bikers being attacked, but they claimed it to be one individual cat... So just in case Darren, don't go into these woods on your bike.

Plus you would then probably not notice the tracks. Always great to see fresh tracks of shy and dangerous animals. Here I quite like how well it shows off those powerful front legs. The positioning in the frame is also good and the fact that you shot this at 200mm means it was quite a close encounter as well. My biggest nit is that the eyes look like black holes, maybe you can retrieve some detail there?

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on July 27, 2010 at 5:51 PM

Nice shot - my only major nit (as Vincent has already mentioned) is the lack of eye detail. This is a captive subject, correct?

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on July 27, 2010 at 7:08 PM

Correct Guy, this cougar was photographed at Northwest Trek, a wildlife park in WA state.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 28, 2010 at 11:43 AM

Darren, very cool story...also a bit chilling wondering if he was tracking you! As far as this shot, like the placement, wish the angle was a bit lower, but don't know if this park gives you that ability. Also agree with nit about the eyes.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on July 28, 2010 at 2:19 PM

What a cool animal. I think you can add some overall brightness as well as try to pull some reflection from the eyes.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 5, 2010 at 10:01 AM

A very nice photo and interesting story! IMHO the Northwest Trek is a great place for native animal photography. In an odd way I like the dark eyes, gives the cat a more mysterious look! Thanks for posting.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments