Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop - Carnivore ...

Throughout the US and Canada, approximately 1,018 cougar depredations occurred per
year (excluding Utah) (Table 7). When analyzed on a regional basis: northwest
jurisdictions reported 643 depredations; 368 occurred in southwest jurisdictions; and 7
occurred in southeast. We provided a list of common species involved in depredation
and asked agencies to rank them in their jurisdiction (multiple choice answers). Across
all jurisdictions, sheep were most commonly involved in cougar depredations (85%),
followed by pets (64%), goats (57%), cattle (43%), horses (15%), and poultry (8%) (Fig.
6). When analyzed on a regional basis, northwest jurisdictions reported pets, sheep, and
goat depredation as most common species, southwest states reported sheep, cattle, and
pet depredation as most common, and in the southeast, Florida reported goats, pets, and
fowl depredation as most common, respectively.
Table 7. Average number of cougar depredations per year (in the past 5 years),
depredation ranking, and when depredations are most common, by jurisdiction,
as reported in a survey of North American wildlife agencies.
# Depredations Depredation When Depredations
Jurisdiction per Year Ranking Mostly Occur
Alberta 30 Increasing Winter
Arizona 50 Common Spring
California 220 Common N/A
Colorado 33 claims N/A Summer
Florida 7 Increasing Year-round
Idaho 5 Minor Summer
Montana 42 Common N/A
Nevada 20 Common Summer
New Mexico 15 Common Spring
Oregon 302 Increasing Variable
South Dakota 4 Uncommon Winter
Texas 30 Minor Unknown
Utah N/A Common Winter
Washington 100 Minor Summer
Wyoming 160 Common Summer
Mexico Unknown Unknown Summer
Twenty-four percent of agencies provided funds to reimburse owners for livestock loss
caused by cougars (Alberta,[AB] CO, ID, UT, WY). In all states that provided
depredation reimbursement, funds were exclusive to livestock loss (not including pet
loss). Agencies without a reimbursement program indicated they were not considering
developing one.
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