As Yellowstone bears sleep, park warns of another dangerous critter

Yellowstone National Park this week cautioned that while most bears are hibernating, winter visitors should still carry bear spray.

That’s because mountain lions, or cougars, are active year-round in the park.

“Though these big cats are extremely elusive and averse to human activity, you should always take care when recreating in the park — even in the winter,” the park explained via Instagram. “Carry bear spray and keep it handy, not inside your pack.

“If you see a cougar, ACT BIG! Yell, show your teeth, and make eye contact.”

Biologists estimate that as many as 42 cougars inhabit the park’s northern range, and that other cougars enter the park sporadically.

For comparison, the park is home to about 125 wolves, which are also active year-round.

But wolves, although they can be elusive, reside in packs and are more predictable, in terms of revealing their locations, than mountain lions.

From the park website: “Wolves are not normally a danger to humans, unless humans habituate them by providing them with food. No wolf has attacked a human in Yellowstone.”

Cougar encounters, while extremely rare, do occur.

In February 2022, Yellowstone Wolf Tracker shared distant footage showing a large cougar rising from its resting spot and exiting the frame. (Video posted above.)

The ecotour company exclaimed: “Low-quality video but a high-quality sighting!”

Cougars prey mostly on deer and elk, but also small mammals such as marmots.

According to the park’s website, bears and wolves sometimes displace cougars from their kills, and wolf packs have been known to kill adult cougars and cougar kittens.

The park adds that “very few documented confrontations between cougars and humans have occurred in Yellowstone.”

But it’s best to be prepared.