In May I spent a week in southern Chile. I recently published the general wildlife and scenery photos from this trip, but there was a bigger goal that awaited me in Patagonia: the puma!
When I traveled to Patagonia six years ago, puma tourism hadn’t yet taken hold. There were very few guides leading puma trips or looking for the big cats, so it’s not a surprise that I never saw one. Since then, things have changed. I’ve been hearing about (and seeing photos of) lots of great cat sightings in and around Torres del Paine, so I knew I’d have to return and give the area another shot. I took this trip in part to scout for the possibilities of leading a future puma tour there. Suffice to say, I’m leading a trip back there next year.
It’s not like I haven’t seen mountain lions before. My Utah cougar encounter is still the favorite wildlife photo op of my career. And I’ve seen seven of them in Costa Rica, including three earlier this year. Nonetheless, this was one of the best wildlife photography trips I’ve ever taken. Visit the full puma gallery to see why (hint: use the Slideshow function). A preview is below:
How incredible is that?! And there’s a lot more in the photo gallery. We saw 18 different pumas in a week, some multiple times!
View all 75 new puma photos in the Patagonia 2016 Pumas gallery right now. And remember, you can order prints of nearly any image in the archive.
Join me on a Puma Quest in 2017!
As mentioned, I will be returning to Chile next year to lead a photo tour targeting these incredible cats. If you are fit and interested in trekking in the hills in and around Torres del Paine as we search for pumas and other wildlife, visit the Puma photo tour page for much more info!
