Did you know that mountain lions don’t make their own dens?
Instead of excavating shelter like some other predators, they rely on what the landscape provides.
In the video below, captured by our Education and Coexistence Director, Joshua Lisbon, a mother mountain lion shelters her two young in a hollowed-out root ball — a temporary refuge tucked into the natural contours of the land.
Mountain lions are remarkably adaptable in how they raise their young.
They use what’s available: old bear dens, root systems, caves, and even culverts.
But these spaces are more than convenient — they are essential.
In colder regions, shelter protects cubs from frost and winter storms.
In hotter, arid landscapes, it can mean protection from extreme heat.
Survival depends on what the landscape can offer.
This particular mother is raising her young in the in-between spaces – the edges of a rural community, where natural habitat and human development meet.
It’s a quiet example of something we don’t often see:
Coexistence is already happening.
Mountain lions are resilient. But their resilience is shaped, and limited, by the landscapes we create.
When habitat remains connected and intact, they adapt.
When it becomes fragmented, the spaces they depend on begin to disappear.
Their survival is not just about the animals themselves — it’s about the systems that support them.
What This Means
Mountain lions don’t need us to build dens for them.
But they do need landscapes that still provide the conditions they rely on.
Protecting habitat, reducing fragmentation, and supporting coexistence practices are what make moments like this possible — not just today, but for generations to come.