It’s impossible to estimate how many times you hear birds chirping on any given hike, mountain bike ride, backcountry ski, or other recreational activity in the mountains, right?
The *tweet tweet* of a harmless bird isn’t naturally alarming to humans, and we don’t really pay attention to their calls unless we’re actively bird watching.
So, you can bet your butt that I was scared to learn that mountain lions make an eerily similar chirping noise to any given bird.
Yeah. I know, right? Kind of scary… Makes me wonder if I’ve ever heard a mountain lion chirping nearby, but I just assumed it was a bird.
The video below should be all the proof that you need. Close your eyes the second time watching it, and tell me that these big cats don’t sound exactly like birds chirping a tree overhead…
Video uploaded to YouTube by Blazing Trails Blog Videos:Â “This is a small montage of game camera video clips that show cougars communicating with chirps and squeaks. Those might not be birds you’re hearing in the forest!”
The sound is believed to be a way for mountain lions to communicate across long distances with each other. The high-pitch chirp travels far and wide.
I’m not saying that you should assume that every bird chirp you hear on your next hike is actually a mountain lion. However, I am saying that any bird chirp you hear on your next hike could be a mountain lion.
Do with that information as you will…😅