News
GF&P looking for home for cougar kitten caught in Deadwood
The day after a state trapper killed a partially blind mountain lion in Deadwood after it was deemed a threat, officials are now looking for a home for the animal's kitten. The male kitten, believed to be about 3 months old, is healthy but probably too young to survive on its own, according to Mike Kintigh, regional supervisor for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks in Rapid City. The kitten was captured in a live trap. The department plans to keep live traps out on the chance the 6-year-old female had other kittens. "If there is another one I'm pretty confident that in a day or two we'll have either caught it or had another reported sighting of it," Kintigh said Thursday.
ND reports season's 1st mountain lion killed
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota is reporting the first mountain lion killed since the state season for hunting the animals opened this fall. State Wildlife Division Chief Randy Kreil says hunter Larry Schultz of Arnegard killed a 95-pound female cat in northwestern North Dakota, east of Watford City The state's fifth mountain lion season started Sept. 4. It runs through March, but could end earlier in the western part of the state if the quota of eight cougars is reached. The eastern part of the state has no quota.
Controversial cougar study comes to end
By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune State wildlife biologists say they will abandon a three-year-old study that failed to show that killing cougars in Jackson County curbs livestock losses and human-safety complaints involving large predators. The much-maligned study in a 1,000-square-mile target area failed to reach its objectives, largely because government hunters never killed enough cougars to make the study viable, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "The objective was to make a difference in the human/pet-safety issues and we were unable to do what we wanted to do," said Larry Cooper, deputy administrator of the ODFW's Wildlife Division in Salem. Similar cougar-killing studies in northeastern Oregon did show a correlation between thinning cougar numbers and increased survival rates on elk calves and reduced livestock damage, according to the agency. Though 24 cougars were killed around much of Jackson County's lowlands over the past three winters, human-safety and pet-loss complaints did not decline as theorized. "We tested our hypothesis and found we couldn't get there," Cooper said. ODFW biologists have recommended that the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission not renew the study, which was part of the state's Cougar Management Plan and was repeatedly panned by wildlife advocates and questioned by some legislators. Sally Mackler, wildlife committee chairwoman for the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, said she was happy the agency was ending the study and not surprised by the findings. "Science tells us that randomly killing predators is not a proven method for reducing conflict," said Mackler, of Ruch. "There's a built-in assumption in the management plan that thinning cougars will increase (deer and elk) herds and decrease conflicts, and that's not ever been proven to be the case." Cooper said state biologists will look at new ways, and potentially new areas of the state, to curb human-safety complaints involving cougars. Cooper said there was no "short list" of possible locations, but he said Jackson County was "not off the table" for testing the next hypothesis. "Whatever it is we do, whether it's in Jackson County or some other county, it's going to look different than what we did down there," Cooper said. ODFW biologists and a Wildlife Services agent hired by the agency could not kill enough cougars for the study, in part because private ownership patterns made it difficult to chase cougars with hounds. Sport-hunting for cougars or bears with hounds was banned by voters in 1994, but hounds are allowed in killing damage-causing animals as well as for government studies. The goal was to kill 24 cougars for the study annually, but the most killed in one year was 11 last winter. Of those killed here, half were female. Half of the cougars were killed after being chased by dogs and the other half were caught in traps or snares, the ODFW's statistics show. Eight of them were kittens, seven were young "sub-adults" and nine were adults, according to the agency. During the same time period within the study area, hunters killed 21 cougars while five were killed over human-safety complaints and 16 were killed after damage complaints, ODFW statistics show. The average age of the female cougars killed for the study was 3.08 years, and the average age of the males was 2.42 years, the study states. The average age of all cougars killed in the area during the study was 2.75 years old. Spencer Lennard, program director of the Williams-based group Big Wild, said the ODFW should focus on encouraging people to keep their pets inside at night and other methods of curbing their susceptibility to cougar damage instead of killing predators. "The onus should be on humans," Lennard said. "It's not about killing cougars. It's about changing human behavior."
Wildlife commission: No mountain lions in WNC
RALEIGH — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is warning the public that a photograph of a mountain lion purported to be taken in western North Carolina is actually from Texas. A photograph that has been circulating, mainly via e-mail in the western counties of the state, shows a mountain lion dragging a deer. Some report that the photo was taken in the Marion area, while others say it was taken in Old Fort or Burnsville. In reality, the photo was taken by a trail camera on a ranch in south Texas, where mountain lions are common. It is one of several mountain lion hoaxes that have circulated through several states in the past few weeks, and the e-mails in each state claim that the photograph was taken locally. Over the past several years there have been at least three such mountain lion hoaxes and, in each case, the same photographs are passed around by e-mail and cell phone with text claiming that the photographs were taken locally. One such hoax involves a photograph of a man posing with a dead mountain lion. The mountain lion was actually killed by a vehicle in Arizona and the man in the photograph is an Arizona Public Safety officer. Another is a series of photographs showing a mountain lion on a porch, but the home is actually in Wyoming. There is no physical evidence to support the existence of a wild mountain lion population in North Carolina. The only mountain lions that have been recovered in the state over the past 50 years were two adults that were shot and killed at a dumpster in eastern North Carolina in the 1980s. Examination of the two animals revealed that they had identification tattoos, indicating that they were illegally held captive animals that either escaped or were released.
Seattle cougar treed, returned to wild
By George Tibbits The Associated Press
Appeared in print: Monday, Sep 7, 2009
SEATTLE — A cougar that apparently had lived in Seattle for more than two weeks and forced the city’s largest park to close was captured early Sunday and returned to the wild, state wildlife officials said. The cougar was immobilized with a tranquilizer in Discovery Park about 2:30 a.m. after hunting dogs treed it, Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Bill Hebner said. An enforcement officer and the dogs tracked the animal after authorities were told it had been spotted Saturday night, the latest sighting in or near the 534-acre preserve. The cougar is a 2½-year-old male, weighs 140 pounds and is in very good health, Capt. Bill Hebner said. After examining the animal, wildlife agents drove it to be released in the Cascade foothills near Skykomish, about 45 miles northeast of Seattle. “It’s a very good prospect for relocation,” Hebner said. “It wasn’t aggressive or stalking people, and it maintained its natural respect for the wild.” The park reopened late Sunday morning, city parks spokeswoman Joelle Ligon said. The animal probably preyed on house cats during its time in the park, Hebner said. Earlier, he said the heavily forested park was a perfect urban retreat for the cougar because there’s no competition for the territorial animal. There’s also plenty of food in the form of rabbits and other small animals, along with neighborhood pets. The mostly undeveloped park on the city’s northwest side includes miles of trails, beaches along Elliott Bay and spectacular views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Fish and Wildlife officers believe the cougar followed a wooded rail corridor running south into the city, then crossed the Lake Washington Ship Canal over a railroad bridge to reach the park. Agents found a report of a cougar sighting near the park Aug. 21, so the animal probably was in the city for two weeks or more, he said. A GPS collar will automatically send updates on the cougar’s location twice a day, Hebner said.
Group petitions Montana to end cougar hunting
By The Associated Press | Monday, December 08, 2008 MISSOULA, Mont. — An international wildlife protection organization has petitioned the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to end mountain lion hunting in the state. The group Big Wildlife cites a Washington State University study that says hunting mountain lions leads to more dangerous encounters between people and the big cats. Ron Aasheim, spokesman for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the agency has seen a news release from Big Wildlife about the petition, but hasn't yet seen the petition. Aasheim said any such request would have to wait until the annual process of setting hunting quotas. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission begins the process each fall. "It's a very public process that would include public input," Aasheim said. "The commission and department would take it under consideration, and the commission decides if it wants to enact any changes." Big Wildlife spokesman Brian Vincent said the group has made similar requests in Washington and Oregon. "The reason we're involved is because of a pretty critical report released recently by Washington State University that says cougar populations are struggling, due to liberalized hunting and aggressive lethal control," Vincent said. The study, by Robert Wielgus, director of university's Large Carnivore Conservation Laboratory, concluded that killing large numbers of cougars creates social chaos among the species. Wielgus said hunters often target adult males, which act as a stabilizing force in cougar populations. The adults police large territories and drive out or kill young males. With the adults gone, Wielgus said, the "young hooligans" run wild. He said most cougar conflicts with humans involve cats younger than 2 who are just learning to live on their own. Big Wildlife called mountain lions a "keystone species" that helps sustain ecological integrity and preserve species diversity by contributing to the regulation of deer, elk and other animal populations. Montana sold 3,903 mountain lion licenses to residents and 145 to nonresidents last season. Those hunters took 350 cats, well below the statewide quota of 459.
Mt. Lion experts speak at Journey Museum
By Mark Watson Black Hills Pioneer RAPID CITY - Two mountain lion experts lectured a gathering at the Journey Museum Saturday. The two officials, both studied or are currently studying the large cats in Washington state. Dr. Hilary Cooley and Brian Kertson, a Ph.D candidate from the University of Washington spoke of mountain lion and human interaction. Kertson is currently studying the demographics of lions that have interaction with humans. His studies have shown that the sex or age of the animals do not affect the likelihood of the lions exploring areas in and around humans. “It is all very individual,” he said. His study area was in King County, Wash., the county that includes Seattle and has a wide range of habitat including urban, suburban, the less populated exburban and least populated wildland. By tracking the lions using GPS collars he showed the travel routes of several lions around houses, schools and businesses. Lions made elk, deer and coyote kills in the areas crossing streets and backyards without, for the most part, people ever knowing they were there. “People and lions can coexist,” Kertson said. “They are around us a lot more than we realize and 99.9 percent of the time we never know they are there.” His radio colored study group consisted of 32 lions, of which 32 had interactions with humans. That interaction, he said, could have just been the lion spotting a person while the human never knew the cat was around. Much of the human/lion interaction comes, he showed, at the urban/wildland interface. It was also on the edge of different types of habitat areas which also are prime hunting areas due to prey availability and vunerability. While no lions stayed completely in populated areas sex did determine the amount of animals that wandered into urban areas. He said 17 of the 18 males he collared ventured into urban areas while only nine of the 14 females used urban areas. “That is because males use such a large area,” he said. “Females that have their core area closer to urban areas will use them while females farther away are less likely,” he said. Males have ranges that cover 200 square miles while females use approximately 60 square miles, he said. “Despite the extensive use of urban areas they are hardly ever seen,” he said. He added that problem cats, those that cause depredation issues, are very individual and sex, age or residence status does not play a factor. “Of the 18 confirmed depredation kills ��- four were adult males, four were adult females, one was a sub adult male and four were sub adult females. Five were unknown and could have been anyone of these,” he said. It is all very individual.” The lions in his study area, like those in the Black Hills, use the drainages, or in his case riparian areas to travel and hunt. The reason, he said, is there is an abundance of prey and cover allowing the “ambush predators” to stalk and kill. Cooley studied how hunting the lions and the style of hunting affected the population. She studied two areas in Washington. The northeast area was heavily hunted in an attempt of reducing the population. Wildlife officials allowed the use of hounds in that particular area. The second study area was in the central part of the state and was less heavily hunted with no hounds and the management goal of maintaining the population. “In the northeast we kill a lot of animals,” Cooley said. “But when you remove one a new one from an adjacent area moved into the area.” She said there was a slight decline in the female population, but overall they came nowhere near the 27 percent decline in population that wildlife officials predicted. She added that the lions from nearby populations are more closely influenced by other populations than once thought. For example the lions in the Black Hills are influenced by those that may be on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, those in Wyoming, Nebraska and North Dakota. Which led her to her main point. “We need to manage more at the meta population concept,” she said. “The population, what is done in one area affects surrounding areas, good or bad.”
Cougars not eating livestock
Food habits of cougars (Puma concolor) in North America have been documented for western populations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Most studies assessed diets Of Cougars occupying typical habitats, and within established populations. We evaluated food habits of cougars in prairie and agricultural landscapes in the Dakotas (regions that had been devoid of the species for roughly a century) located well outside of known resident populations. We obtained stomach and gastrointestinal (GI) tracts from H cougars (10 male; 4 female) from 2003-2007, and evaluated contents via Frequency of occurrence (%) Of various prey items. Deer (Odocoileus spp.) had the highest frequency of occurrence (50.0%). Other native mammalian prey included jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii, L. californicus), porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), beaver (Castor canadensis), badger (Taxidea taxus), mink (Mustela vison) and rodent species (e.g., vole). No domestic livestock species were documented as part of the cougar diet in the Dakotas, although remains of domestic housecat (Felis silvestris) were found in G1 tracts of two animals. Based on our results, cougars occupying non-typical, newly recolonized habitats were successfully adapting predation techniques for capture of natural and newly confronted prey species. The wide range of prey encountered suggested that prey was being obtained opportunistically in prairie and agricultural landscapes of the Dakotas.
Kittens adjust to new surroundings at zoos
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A total of 15 mountain lion kittens were left behind when their mothers were killed during the 2007 mountain lion hunting season.
The seven of those that were considered too young to survive on their own were rescued by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks.
One kitten had to be euthanized while being held at South Dakota State University, but six others were placed in zoos throughout the country.
There's Brady and Eli, the siblings delivered to the Phoenix Zoo in January, just before the Super Bowl. Named in a contest after NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning, the cats have fit in well at the zoo.
"They're very comfortable on their exhibit," said spokeswoman Aimee Yamamori. "They spend a lot of time up on the cliff of the exhibit face, basking in the sun."
Meanwhile, former South Dakota cats Pecos, Acala and Nocona have found a home at the Abilene Zoo in Abilene, Texas, where they will be the centerpiece of an exhibit showcasing the state's various native species, according to zoo director Bill Baker.
Pecos, a male, tends to be independent, but his sisters are hard to keep apart. Nocona usually follows Acala, the cat Baker calls the "brave" and "dominant" female.
"They're pretty much inseparable," he said, adding that the two usually spend the evenings together as well. "They also tend to pile up together and sleep."
He said all three cats, which arrived at the zoo in January at 3 months old, seem to be succeeding in their new environment.
"They're doing extremely well," he said. "They've really adapted to their surroundings."
And Dakota, a 7-month-old male cougar who ended up at the Denver Zoo, is also adjusting, according to spokeswoman Ana Bowie. Dakota came to the zoo in February and spends his time in a large outdoor exhibit with a rock-climbing structure, logs, a cave and other structures.
Dakota was paired with another orphaned cat from Washington state named Cassi.
"The two were put together instantly when we got them," he said. "She was the typical little spitfire that took it to him even though she was half the size of him. Then they got things figured out, and they've been inseparable since."
All three zoo representatives said the zoos were grateful to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks for giving them a chance to acquire the cats.
And you thought we had problems with mountain lions ...
A woman riding her mountain bike on South Boulder Creek Trail in Colorado recently had an encounter heretofore unheard of except in Steve Martin's "Cruel Shoes." The unidentified victim was riding along in the Boulder Open Space when she stopped to let a cow pass. Before she knew it, though, the unruly bovine knocked the woman to the ground and walked over her, stepping her on legs as she passed. According to a story on Denver's Channel 7's Web site, "the owner of the cow was contacted regarding the renegade cow, which had left the scene by the time rangers arrived." The nerve! Amazingly, the Boulder Daily Camera reported that this wasn't the first instance of angry cows taking it to their human captors. In 2003, an angry mama cow rammed a woman, breaking the woman's pelvis.
BOULDER, Colo. — A cow charged a woman on the South Boulder Creek Trail on Monday afternoon, knocking her down, officials said. The woman was riding her bike on the trail when she encountered the cow, and she stopped to let the animal pass, said Pete Taylor, a ranger for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. The cow knocked the woman over and walked on her legs, he said. He said the woman -- whose name wasn't released -- wasn’t seriously injured, and she refused medical treatment. She didn’t appear to do anything to provoke the animal, which witnesses said appeared to have an injured leg, he said. The cow had left the scene by the time rangers arrived, but hikers coming down the trail were warning others about the rogue bovine. Marshall Mesa open space is leased by livestock owners and used as grazing land. Taylor said the cow’s owner was notified. In 2003, a woman was rammed three times and her pelvis fractured by a grazing mama cow when she accidentally ran between the animal and her calf on the South Boulder Creek Trail. Jason Vogel, vice president of the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance, called Monday's attack "odd, rare and random" and said he hasn’t heard of any other cows going after cyclists. It’s not even common to come across cows on the trails, he said, though they often can be seen nearby. "It’s not something people should be concerned about," he said.