Cougar pursues coyote past trail camera, audio reveals likely result

On Monday we featured trail-cam footage showing a mountain lion’s successful nighttime hunt in the Southern California wilderness.

The mountain lion, or cougar, was shown following a coyote past the camera and returning minutes later with its kill. The footage revealed a predator-prey interaction that plays out routinely on trails when most people are in their beds.

It’s also reminiscent of a similar but more dramatic scene also captured via trail-cam in eastern Orange County. (See video below.)

In Nathalie Orozco’s footage, captured last fall, the coyote is shown trotting down a trail and a stealthy mountain lion sensing opportunity. The ambush occurs in the darkness beyond the camera’s infrared light, but audio reveals the likely result.

Mark Girardeau, who featured the footage on Orange County Outdoors, stated:

“Just before entering the frame, the mountain lion noticed the coyote and went into action to secure his next meal. Notice how the mountain lion pounces quietly rather than sprinting.”

A scouting mission the next day turned up coyote fur but no carcass. Girardeau, who theorized that the cougar had hauled its kill off-trail, commented:

“Our guess is that the mountain lion was successful based on other nearby cameras which showed him hanging out in the area for the entire night afterwards.”