Cameras Reveal the Secret Lives of a Mountain Lion Family | Short Film Showcase

Mountain lion, puma, cougar— all names for an animal that has long been misunderstood, feared, hunted, and eliminated from most of its range. The cougar is often believed to be solitary and even heartless, but recently, deep in the Wyoming Wind River Range, biologists have placed motion cameras in dens and in other secluded areas. Through the camera's lens, we’re now able to peer into the secret life of these animals and see their close family ties and how truly social, interdependent, and caring they really are.

What has emerged is quite surprising even to the biologists. Meet female 61, a new mother. She’s given birth to three kittens: the quiet male M-72, another male M-80, a firecracker to match his name, and F-96, their feisty sister. Kittens like these depend on their mother until they’re nearly two years old. 61 will devote most of her life to nurturing and providing for her offspring, and that isn’t easy.

In order to feed them, she sometimes has to leave her three kittens alone for days at a time. When she finally returns from a hunt, she calls out and receives a warm greeting from her kittens. The kittens are still young when the cameras captured something astonishing. F-61 and M-80 are feeding together, and suddenly a large male emerges from the darkness. Males like this one are known to chase off kittens or even kill them, but after 20 minutes, the male settles in to share the meal with F-61 and her kittens.

Thanks to the tracking collars, we know that this is actually a family reunion. M-80 has just met his father for the first time. Soon, the harsh winter makes it especially difficult for this mother to protect her kittens. During a cold spell, temperatures plunge to 35 degrees below zero. Little F-96 loses the tops of her ears and tail, earning her the nickname “Frostbite.” Unfortunately, the family suffers from more than brutal cold.

In midwinter, a pack of hungry wolves arrives and attacks the cougar family. M-72, the shy male, does not survive. As the months pass, F-61 continues to care for her two remaining kittens, watching for danger and correcting their playful behavior when they get a little too rough. As the kittens grow, we’re able to see intimate glimpses into their close social bonds. We see long, lazy spells of napping, grooming, wrestling, playing tag, and for M-80, a refresher on table manners.

The camera catches another rare and unexpected moment when Frostbite appears to be coughing, and we are able to see her mother come in to comfort her. When M-80 reaches 18 months old, he leaves his mother and sister behind in search of a new home and eventually a mate. This is really a time for hope, a chance for all of F-61's maternal care to pay off.

But after eight months, 150 miles from his birthplace, his search comes to a tragic end. He is killed by a trophy hunter. The deaths of M-72 and M-80 remind us that it’s not easy being a cougar: habitat loss, trophy hunters, harsh winters, and wolves in the Wind River Range. Fewer than one in five kittens survive to raise a family—fewer than one in five.

The good news is that F-61, the Wind River mother, is a survivor. She is captured on camera once again, raising a new litter of kittens. She has even adopted an orphaned kitten—one of several adoptions that wildlife biologists have uncovered with this new research. Little Frostbite has too beaten the odds and should soon be raising her own kittens.

Will her kittens survive to have families of their own? Perhaps the cameras will tell us. It’s hard to imagine what these and other cougars go through in the wild, but what we can understand is family. The moments captured here have shown us the true nature and personalities of these American icons: their power, their beauty, and how affectionate and caring they really are.

With help from us, we can guarantee their safe and rightful place and ensure that these remarkable animals are around long into the future. [Music]