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Puma Walking Through Deep Snow Patagonia

It was bitter cold – the car temperature read -21C (-5.8 F) as we drove to an area with a dense mountain lion (aka puma) population near Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. It was July 2023 and I had traveled over 6000 miles hoping to see and photograph pumas in the wild. The roads were slick from a storm that had recently dumped 2 feet of snow making some of the territory unpassable. When our tracker radioed that he had spotted a mountain lion excitement was high. We hiked through the deep snow up the foothills hoping we would get a chance to see this puma. Briefly we saw a beautiful male from a distance before he disappeared in the foothills. Just as he was leaving our view, another puma popped up from behind the hill he was disappearing over. The new puma - a female named Petaca – paused briefly near the male before following his trail through the snow in our direction. Eventually she took her own path and we tried to get to a place she was heading. It was difficult as she was much faster walking through the snow than I was, but as she took a break I eventually got to a place in the direction she was traveling. In this photo she was passing by our location not bothered by us, but keeping a respectful distance. I love the way she looks as she came out of the shadow of the mountain and into the sunlight. I’ve always lived in parts of the United States where pumas reside, but despite spending lots of time hiking and biking I have never seen one. It was an incredible thrill to see and photograph this amazing animal especially on foot.

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Puma-Walks-Through-Deep-Snow-G1A7765_457.jpg
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© 2023 Lara Ferraro
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4893x2920 / 5.8MB
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Patagonia in Winter
It was bitter cold – the car temperature read -21C (-5.8 F) as we drove to an area with a dense mountain lion (aka puma) population near Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. It was July 2023 and I had traveled over 6000 miles hoping to see and photograph pumas in the wild. The roads were slick from a storm that had recently dumped 2 feet of snow making some of the territory unpassable. When our tracker radioed that he had spotted a mountain lion excitement was high. We hiked through the deep snow up the foothills hoping we would get a chance to see this puma. Briefly we saw a beautiful male from a distance before he disappeared in the foothills. Just as he was leaving our view, another puma popped up from behind the hill he was disappearing over. The new puma - a female named Petaca – paused briefly near the male before following his trail through the snow in our direction. Eventually she took her own path and we tried to get to a place she was heading. It was difficult as she was much faster walking through the snow than I was, but as she took a break I eventually got to a place in the direction she was traveling. In this photo she was passing by our location not bothered by us, but keeping a respectful distance. I love the way she looks as she came out of the shadow of the mountain and into the sunlight. I’ve always lived in parts of the United States where pumas reside, but despite spending lots of time hiking and biking I have never seen one. It was an incredible thrill to see and photograph this amazing animal especially on foot.
Info
Wildlife and Nature Photography by Lara Ferraro and Scot Ferraro