Puma at the Lake

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 15, 2016314 views15 comments

I've just returned from a scouting trip to Patagonia, where I photographed several wild pumas (mountain lions) over the course of a week. I think we had something like 18 different individuals, including a couple sets of young cubs.

This is the mother of one of those litters. Unfortunately, her story didn't end well. We photographed her as she was wandering the shores of a lake, where we had seen her and her youngsters two days before. On this morning she was pacing back and forth calling for the cubs, with no response. We soon discovered why, as we found all three cubs dead nearby. It seems that one of her cubs from her previous litter--which had been seen hanging around the family--had killed them.

Canon 7D Mark II
Canon 600mm f/4 IS
ISO 400
1/1000th
f/8

I made an exception to my normal rule and posted a slightly larger version of this image at 1200px, so feel free to take a look.

Max

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Stephen Stanton on May 15, 2016 at 2:54 PM

Thanks for posting the story, always enjoy photos of this creature from the wild.

Registered on March 1, 2015, 54 Posts, 453 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on May 15, 2016 at 6:44 PM

Wow, Max, a gorgeous capture of this gorgeous animal. The story is sad, and she does look quite bereft.

I could see cropping this a little bit from the top, bottom and the left. But still it's a wonderful look at an animal we don't see often.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on May 15, 2016 at 9:46 PM

Max, just an amazing capture of this beautiful animal.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 16, 2016 at 4:40 PM

What a place that must be, as I cannot imagine opportunity to see 18 wild mountain lions in a week! Terrific. I like this image for the rich soft colors of sky and cat. If I had to try anything to improve, maybe this is one where a little softening of sky contrast might be an enhancement, but this is great as posted. Nice choice of composition, too.

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on May 17, 2016 at 11:43 AM

Sad story, but beautiful frame, love the glorious sky here.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on May 19, 2016 at 10:13 AM

Wonderful light and pose with a killer background!. Well done.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on May 20, 2016 at 12:56 PM

Gorgeous shot, so much to like!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Katie Jones on May 22, 2016 at 11:09 AM

Wow, Max! This is stunning! Great light and perfect composition. A very powerful shot!

Registered on November 17, 2015, 17 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on May 22, 2016 at 3:07 PM

This is absolutely beautiful.
Great light, composition and pose.

Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Mario Moreno on May 22, 2016 at 3:17 PM

Stunning composition and light Max ! . . . my favorite cat which I have yet to see in the wild. Definitely on my bucket list. <div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"> </div>

Registered on January 24, 2012, 163 Posts, 369 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on May 23, 2016 at 9:51 PM

Absolutely stunning image Max! To see one Mountain Lion in great light with a stunning background is amazing but to have 18 seperate sightings in a week; what a trip. We have only ever seen one and for just a few seconds; it's looking like Patagonia is going on the list.

Cheers,

Joe

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on May 25, 2016 at 5:28 PM

Thanks everyone, and thanks to the editors for the WP.

One point of clarification: the background is actually comprised of rolling hills on the other side of the lake shore. We happened to be in a somewhat "submerged" position beneath these white boulders that lead down to the lake shore, which helped with the angle and background.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on May 28, 2016 at 3:49 AM

Really stunning - comp, colours, BG, pose - all exceptional.
Congrats on the well-deserved EP!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on May 30, 2016 at 6:26 AM

Max,
Very worthy of the weekly pick, it is truly remarkable devil

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on May 30, 2016 at 8:51 AM

Hey Max,
This is a truly beautiful image in all respects,
Simply Outstanding . . . devil

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments