See Why the Mysterious Mountain Lion Is the ‘Bigfoot’ of Big Cats | Short Film Showcase

nobody knows anything about Al's going on with my lights out here they don't my own lines are out here and that's all people know they are so mysterious people don't see them they're like little cat yetis okay take away that cat Yeti thing brilliant cat safety is our our most important priority as the cat walks through here it's gonna stuff here here here and it's too far I reach to go over there so he's just gonna go right here and get caught in the snare [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] we've captured 25 adult and sub-adult mountain lions over the last 10 years we've put GPS collars on and then we've also caught four kittens yeah he's plenty big when a mount line is born it'll stay with his mother and nurse for two months and then stay with its mother for another year or so learning to hunt and then after about a year and a half to two years old the mother will leave them then you have a sub-adult lion that has to find its own territory the dispersing sub-adults that we've had they've gone very long distances we had one travel from the Davis Mountains almost to Big Bend National Park the data from our colored adult mountain lions had an average of about 150 square miles for their home range but we head up to 400 square miles home range going in on a kill with a cat president I mean it's a little nerve-racking you can't help us just be able to feel the eyes on you so yeah when you're going in on this fresh kill sides knowing that it's still there that it stealthily took down this full-grown deer and it's watching you just the same yeah my folks I think you're more freaked out than I am about anything but as they should be as parents should be using these colors can find out what they're eating and what they're doing out here [Music] mountain lions are unregulated in terms of their harvest in Texas they could be trapped they can be shot there aren't any limits on the number that you can chill or your methods of tape with a sample size of 21 cats survival was about a 53 percent annual survival for the cats that we had collared the biggest mystery to me is how this population continues to persist in the Davis Mountains what is it what's that mechanism that's keeping these animals still here this populations still around is an immigration from you know the south from Mexico Big Bend National Park is an immigration from the north is it isolated populations of high surviving females Matlin's symbolize mystery they're mysterious they are lucid they're secretive but they're amazing animals this population in West Texas has remained here for centuries [Music] understanding of how it's still here making sure it continues to to still be here that's an important thing [Music] you you [Music]

Channel: National Geographic

Views: 1,911,017

Keywords: Short film showcase, national geographic, nat geo, natgeo, animals, wildlife, science, explore, discover, survival, nature, culture, Showcase, short films, filmmakers, wildlife films, films, farming, agriculture, dangers, grain, mountain lions, cougar, pumas, ben masters, short film, secretive, research techniques, collars, tracking, big cats, Davis Mountains, Texas, Borderlands Research Institute, PLivjPDlt6ApRiBHpsyXWG22G8RPNZ6jlb, PLivjPDlt6ApTDlm7OufY6HAzNmFAqxWSo, PLivjPDlt6ApTjurXykShuUqp7LQcj9s8s

Id: 5gguoyHTEoU

Length: 7min 48sec (468 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 13 2017