When I talked to filmmaker Ben Masters in the last episode, he really nerded out about mountain lions.

I enjoyed our chat a lot because I like nature's stuff and I especially love hearing about cougars.

At the same time, I realized that The Unforgotten is a true crime podcast, and there wasn't a whole lot of crime happening in that episode.

And to be perfectly honest, there is precisely zero crime committed in this bonus episode.

This one is all about lions.

We are getting even nerdier about their super cute cubs, how their moms protect them,

and what we still don't know about these ghosts of the wild. Let's get it started. This is

the Unforgotten Season 6, KillSight. I'm your host, Wes Ferguson, and this is a bonus episode. Cougar Bebop.

I'd like to talk about mountain lines, not mountain line politics or mountain line controversy,

or I want to talk about what they do on a daily basis if that's all right please do so whenever a mountain lion is born they're like a little labrador puppy size they're

all spotted they'll live in a natal den for about two weeks or so, and their

mom will move them to a new spot. And they're very reliant on their mothers, especially as a

newborn. They've got to drink milk, obviously, they're mammals. And then whenever they're eight weeks or so,

they'll begin traveling with mom to her different kill sites.

So the life strategy of a lioness is to have food and provide for her family.

And depending on where they're at, their prey is going to differ.

In South Texas, it's primarily deer, havelinas, pigs,

and then foxes, coyotes, raccoons, turkeys,

really anything that they can catch and eat.

West Texas, you'll get into Audet, Havilinas, mule deer, white-tailed deer,

but they're very opportunistic animals.

And a female lion, they'll make a kill, which is very hard.

...