The burst of energy crossing the camera was just too much work for an ambush predator to chase down. Conserving energy is vital for lions so this, likely female, lion decided to let the deer go. She chose, instead, to investigate and sniff around a familiar tree where there are known lion scrapes, and bedded down under the protective branches to get cover from the snow. A 60-second gap between the deer and lion was edited out for ease of viewing. | The Cougar Fund