Gorgeous, Surprising Photos of a Mountain Lion on an Iceberg

Mountain lions sometimes surprise us by showing up in unlikely places, like a backyard shed, an avocado tree, or a dam. But have you ever seen a mountain lion on an iceberg? Luis Alejandro Acharez has, and he took some pretty incredible photos so the rest of us can see it, too.

Acharez is a wildlife photographer in Patagonia. Mountain lions live throughout this vast region in South America, which encompasses parts of Argentina and Chile and spans from the Pacific to the Atlantic. There is a particularly big concentration of pumas in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park.

A range of ecosystems make up Patagonia—from deserts to glaciers. Patagonian pumas can survive the region’s harsh winters, and they can also swim. So, sometimes, apparently, you’ll find one on an iceberg. To those of us in the United States, who are used to seeing mountain lions in a much different environment, it’s a surprising sight.

Acharez took these particular photos in Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park. He’s posted them several times on his Instagram profile, and he included them in his book, which celebrates this beautiful corner of the world through photography.

See Acharez’s photos of a mountain lion on an iceberg here:

Did it surprise you to see a mountain lion hanging out on an iceberg?