The Unforgotten – Bonus Episode: Cougar Bebop

Host: Wes Ferguson
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special bonus episode, host Wes Ferguson dives deep into the natural history and daily life of mountain lions—commonly called cougars or pumas—setting aside the usual true crime focus of The Unforgotten. With the help of filmmaker and mountain lion expert Ben Masters, the episode explores the biology, behavior, and mysteries surrounding these elusive “ghosts of the wild,” particularly their lifecycle, hunting behavior, social dynamics, and the gaps in our understanding of their impact on the ecosystem.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Focus: Nature Over Crime

• (00:04) Wes Ferguson admits up front:

  “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.”

2. Life Cycle of Mountain Lions

• (01:14) Ben Masters:

  • Birth and Early Life:

    • Kittens are born the size of Labrador puppies, spotted, and live in a natal den for about two weeks.
    • They’re heavily reliant on their mothers for nourishment and protection as newborns.

  • Learning to Hunt:

    • At about eight weeks, kittens travel with their mother to kill sites, learning to feed and survive.
    • Mothers shift dens and kill sites frequently for safety.

3. Hunting Behavior and Diet

• (02:00–08:30) Ben Masters:

  • Difficulties of Predation:

    • Masters’ team filmed 40 hunting attempts in the wild; only two led to successful kills caught on camera.

    • “It is very, very difficult to sneak up on an animal that is larger than you are, that is highly evolved to avoid being predated on, jump on its back, avoid getting knocked off, and asphyxiate it.”

  • Hunting Process:

    • Kills are quick:

      “The mule deer that we filmed get killed... went from alive and sleeping... to being dead in maybe 10 minutes. It’s one of the fastest, most swift deaths in the natural world.”

    • After a kill, the mother calls her kittens with a loud, bird-like chirp over long distances, often at night.

  • Diet Variation:

    • Main prey varies by region: deer, javelinas, pigs in South Texas; mule deer, whitetail deer in West Texas.
    • They’re opportunistic, often eating foxes, coyotes, raccoons, turkeys, and smaller animals.

  • Duration at Kill Site:

    • Stay length depends on carcass size and conditions—ranging from 2–20 days, especially in winter.

4. Understudied Feeding Behavior

• (08:30–09:50) Ben Masters:

  • Mountain lions kill and eat much more than traditional research documents—quick kills (like coyotes or rabbits) aren’t registered by GPS cluster methods.

  • Notable quote:

    “One of the big mysteries around mountain lions is what is their effect on these meso predators like coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and other animals that eat fawns, that eat quail eggs... There’s a lot that we don’t know that we’ll hopefully understand with time.”

5. Social Structure and Dispersal

• (09:50–11:35) Ben Masters:

  • Mother-offspring Dynamics:

    • High kitten mortality: out of three kittens, typically only two survive to dispersal.
    • Kittens are dependent until about two years old; start traveling and hunting alone at 14–16 months.

  • Home Ranges and Dispersal:

    • Females set up ranges near mothers; young males disperse far to avoid inbreeding and dominant males.

    • “They had one [lion] that traveled all the way from Salt Lake City to Denver in like two months. It swam across Flaming Gorge reservoir. It’s nuts.”

6. Population Stabilization & Gender Differences

• (11:35–12:20) Ben Masters:

  • Self-regulation:

    • Some evidence suggests natural self-stabilization via kitten mortality, but comprehensive research is lacking, especially in unhunted populations.

  • Male vs. Female Roles:

    • Males defend large territories with multiple females; little to no parental investment, focused on mating and territory defense.

    • “The male’s goal is to establish a territory, have one, two, maybe three females inside of it... provide security for those cats so that those females can raise the cubs.”

  • Females tend to hunt larger prey (contrary to expectations: “In many studies, the females tend to hunt larger prey than the males.”)

7. Fascination and the Unknown

• (12:20–12:40) Ben Masters (on what excites him as a filmmaker):

  > “The behavioral aspect of mountain lions I think is really, really cool, and they’re incredibly fascinating... There’s a lot that we don’t know about mountain lions. And that to me is really exciting, especially as a filmmaker.”
  

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On hard-to-capture hunting success:

  “[Of] 40 predation attempts that we have filmed, we have successfully filmed a mountain lion kill a mule deer in Utah... So it is very, very difficult...” — Ben Masters, (03:20)

• On the speed and efficiency of a mountain lion kill:

  “It went from alive and sleeping in its bed to being dead in maybe 10 minutes. It’s one of the fastest, most swift deaths in the natural world.” — Ben Masters, (04:50)

• On the underappreciated social side of cats:

  “They’re more social than a lot of people give them credit for. They just don’t run around in prides like the African lions do.” — Ben Masters, (10:15)

• On dispersal journeys:

  “They had one that traveled all the way from Salt Lake City to Denver in like two months. It swam across Flaming Gorge reservoir. It’s nuts.” — Ben Masters, (11:28)

• Reflecting on what science still doesn’t know:

  “There’s a lot that we don’t know that we’ll hopefully understand with time.” — Ben Masters, (09:40)
  “The behavioral aspect of mountain lions I think is really, really cool, and they’re incredibly fascinating...” — Ben Masters, (12:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:04] – Introduction to the bonus episode and focus on mountain lion biology, not crime
• [00:59–05:00] – Mountain lion birth, early life, and maternal behaviors
• [05:00–08:30] – Hunting strategies, difficulty of predation, description of actual filmed kills
• [08:30–09:50] – How conventional research underestimates mountain lion prey, mysteries about dietary impact
• [09:50–11:35] – Kitten independence, mortality rates, dispersal, surprising social behaviors
• [11:35–12:20] – Population dynamics, male vs. female life strategies, knowledge gaps
• [12:20–12:40] – Closing reflections on the ongoing mysteries and fascination of mountain lion behavior

This episode is a deep, engaging look at mountain lions as wild animals—revealing surprising facts about their family structures, hunting, and role in the ecosystem. For nature lovers and the curious, it’s a captivating pause from true crime to appreciate the secret lives of cougars, with all their ferocity, mystery, and vulnerability.