The Story of the Lion and the Goat: Part 2
This winter an incredible event unfolded here on the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park. In late January a wildlife guide was watching a lone mountain goat high on a cliff band above the Lamar Valley. The goat stomped repeatedly while looking intently at the rock wall in front of it, or at least that is what it looked like at first. Then the mountain lion moved its head.
The elusive mountain lion was laying at the base of the cliff close to 10 feet in front of the old goat. The tawny color of the lion blended perfectly with the volcanic rock, and one really needed the cat to move to be able to distinguish its shape. Yellowstone Wild Naturalist Guide Rob H. was able to show his guests the cat and the goat through our high-powered spotting scopes (see Yellowstone Wild’s January 30, 2024, Facebook and Instagram posts).
As you might imagine, lots of speculation began to circulate about the interaction between these two animals up on a steep mountainside. Some thought the goat just happened upon the lion at that moment, startling the sleeping cat. Others imagined the lion was actively hunting the goat, waiting for it to venture into less defensible terrain that would give the cat the upper paw Some speculated the goat may be sick or injured and the lion was waiting for its demise rather than tackling such a powerful animal on such precarious cliffs.
No one will ever know. One thing, however, was clear: on this day they were together on a cliff face and were aware of each other’s very close proximity.
We had seen the same goat in the same exact place just the day before. Was the cat there and I just missed it? We’ll never know.
News of this sighting quickly spread through the social media networks of every wildlife enthusiast for miles around. The viewing location was a large, paved pullout—with two vault toilets—making it a convenient stop for every guide, photographer, and biologist. During the following days, weeks, and months, many skilled spotters searched every nook and cranny of the cliff face hoping to catch another glimpse of the lion. Surprisingly, several were successful on several days (mountain lions are an extremely rare sighting in Yellowstone). Each viewing noted the much more obvious mountain goat remained in the vicinity.
In February, we were able to locate the mountain lion on a cliff a half mile east of the January sighting. Once again, it was bedded down against a rock wall with the goat located just below it. The goat perched on tiptoes atop a rocky point, a 300-foot cliff looming below. The lion slept, occasionally repositioning, throughout the day. At dusk it arose, stretched, and walked away, leaving the goat on its ledge. (see Part 1 “Díos mío!” A Rare Mountain Lion Sighting on Tour with Yellowstone Wild).
On March 8, another sighting was reported of the lion at the base of the mountain where we had last seen it. The next morning it remained, and this time it was found feeding on the carcass of the mountain goat.
Our General Manager, Tyrene, and I packed up a picnic dinner of homemade elk chili and headed out that evening in an attempt to enjoy our dinner while watching a wild mountain lion, because how often do you get to experience that? The afternoon was quiet, not a soul around. The wind was cold, but the chili was hot.
At first, we didn’t see the sleeping, tan-colored cat. Then the lion lifted its head and paw to groom itself. It stood, stretched, and began feeding on a carcass at the base of the cliff. As soon as we were able to make out the goat carcass, we immediately looked up. The sheer cliff face rose straight up to a prominent ledge on the mountain, the same ledge where we had seen the lion and the goat before.
If the goat had fallen from that ledge, it would have landed exactly at that location. Is that what happened? Did the goat fall? Did the lion chase the goat off the cliff? Or did the lion catch the goat at the cliff base? In a different scenario, did the lion drag the goat’s carcass there from another location?
No one will ever know the exact details of the dance between these two cliff dwellers. What we do know is that from January to March of 2024 there were multiple sightings of the mountain goat and the mountain lion near one another on the cliffs. In our opinion—in the era of information overload—there is immense beauty in not knowing every detail about wildness. The dance of life and death unfolding throughout a harsh winter high on a cliff in the world’s premier national park was observed by many, but the details were understood by none. What we observed certainly makes us wonder, and that wonder is what keeps us coming back each day, excited to see what magic Yellowstone has in store for us next time.
Photos, video, and text courtesy of Yellowstone Wild Owner/Operator Emil M.
To learn more about Emil and the rest of the Yellowstone Wild team visit our “About Us” webpage.