Yellowstone National Park warned this week that while most bears hibernate, winter visitors should still carry bear spray.

This is because mountain lions or cougars are active in the park all year round.

“Although these big cats are extremely elusive and averse to human activity, caution should always be exercised when recreating in the park – even in winter,” the park said on Instagram. “Take bear spray with you and keep it handy, not in your backpack.

“If you see a cougar, act big! Yell, show your teeth and make eye contact.”

Yellowstone cougar stands guard from tree. Photo: NPS/Connor Meyer

Biologists estimate that up to 42 pumas live in the park’s northern range and that other pumas enter the park sporadically.

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For comparison: There are around 125 wolves living in the park, which are also active all year round.

But while wolves can be elusive, they live in packs and are more predictable in revealing their location than mountain lions.

The park’s website states: “Wolves do not normally pose a threat to humans unless humans habituate them by providing them with food. “No wolf has attacked a human in Yellowstone.”

While cougar encounters are extremely rare, they do happen.

In February 2022, Yellowstone Wolf Tracker shared distant footage showing a large cougar rising from its resting spot and exiting the frame. (Video posted above.)

The eco-tour company exclaimed, “Low quality video, but a high quality sighting!”

Cougars hunt primarily deer and elk, but also small mammals such as marmots.

According to the park’s website, bears and wolves sometimes displace cougars from their prey, and wolf packs have been known to kill adult cougars and cougar kittens.

The park adds that “very few documented confrontations between cougars and humans have occurred in Yellowstone.”

But it’s best to be prepared.