“The tiger will see you a hundred times before you see him once.”
John Vaillant
Patagonia, Chile, 2024
For the last 30 years, I have lived among the highest density of cougars in the world on Vancouver Island and have only ever seen a fleeting glimpse of one cat.
Powerful, flexible muscles, padded paws, and carefully calculated movements allow big cats like cougars or pumas to move camouflaged throughout their habitats—nature’s perfect hunters. Each time I walk my dogs or bike, I can never shake the feeling of feline eyes watching my every move, and I have dreamed of the day I might finally meet them.
When I had the chance to photograph the famed pumas of Chilean Patagonia, my expectations were reserved even as I felt anticipation build.
After a rocky start to the trip involving a lost passport and a pitstop at a Brazilian embassy, I finally arrived in Chile. The lodge where I stayed was a converted estancia on the outskirts of Torres del Paine National Park, complete with still-functional farming and livestock equipment. With the increase in visitors to the region, lured by the pristine peaks of the nearby park, ecotourism has become a booming industry. The owners of the estancia are among those who have chosen to live in harmony with the very animals once deemed a threat to livestock. Their lively staff of locals still proudly carry the values of gaucho culture rooted in honesty, hard work, and generosity.
A young puma peers around its mother in Patagonia, Chile.
A large female puma rests on the savanna or pampas of Patagonia in Chile.
Among the lodge’s employees was a reputed guide and puma expert named Rodrigo, who knew the cats of the area like family. Following Rodrigo’s lead, I set out deep into the heart of puma country, where cultivated land gave way to striking rock formations, snow-fed lakes, and miles upon miles of grassland or pampas. The further we trekked, the higher the granite peaks of the Andes rose before us. There, in the shadow of the mountains, we came across our first puma; a female of near-celebrity status known as Petaka and her two kittens.
Petaka’s serene, commanding presence and complete indifference to humans have made her something of a legend among those who visit the mountains of Torres del Paine and its surrounding region. Unlike in neighboring Argentina, pumas in Chile are considered a protected species, and hunting them is mostly prohibited. As a result, some of the pumas within the area have adjusted to going about their lives in the presence of people, ignoring them entirely. Nothing could make me happier than letting the quiet hours pass in the company of a wild animal who is nothing but calm, relaxed, and content.
I had the privilege of watching Petaka care for her kittens while I sat nearby, silently overcome with emotion as the little family tumbled in the grass together.
Shortly after meeting Petaka and getting to know more of the resident pumas in the park, the mountain weather suddenly turned, as it often does. The winds picked up, and the first few flakes of snow fell before the storm finally settled over the land, drawing the world in close and muffling all sound. I sought shelter in the mountainside caves to hunker down and wait out the blizzard. Not long after finding a decent refuge, a large cat suddenly appeared out of the snow and settled just feet away to keep dry. Instinctively, I held my breath, trying to keep my lens still against the excitement rising in my chest.
We sat in perfect silence as snowdrifts blanketed the willow thickets below—two unlikely companions trapped in a snowstorm. The cat never once acknowledged my presence and kept its eyes trained on the environment. It was only when the weather finally cleared and my friend crept away over the fresh canvas that I allowed the dam of emotions to break. When we give nature the space to recover and thrive, we become witnesses to the full depth of life on Earth as it was always meant to be experienced: wild, raw, and beyond all imagination.
I could never have asked for a greater gift than that fleeting moment of camaraderie with a wild animal in one of the most breathtaking ecosystems on the planet.
With gratitude and hope for the future,
