Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

4 STATUS OF MOUNTAIN LION POPULATIONS IN ARIZONA · Wakeling
Table 1. Arizona mountain lion harvest summary excluding tribal lands, 1998-2002.
Total Harvest
Sport
Harvest
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
Gender of Sport
Harvest
Year
Tags
Issued Sport Depredation Other b
Using Dogs Male Female
1998 6590
1999 6885
2000 7478
2001 8109
2002 7900 a
289 52 1 192 150 136
247 49 2 161 126 120
276 53 0 193 133 141
326 58 0 214 176 144
263 50 5 175 154 115
a
2002 tags sold is preliminary.
b
Includes known kills other than sport or depredation (e.g., highway mortality, capture mortality, and illegal take).
limits are established to take 50-75% of the
mountain lions that occupy an area when the
aforementioned criteria are met. To date,
none of the multiple bag limits have been
achieved.
Arizona mountain lion seasons are
currently open yearlong. About 7,900
nonpermit tags were sold to hunters in 2002
(Table 1). During 1998-2002, about 67%
were taken with the aid of hounds, whereas
24% were taken incidental to other
activities. Currently, Arizona does not have
a pursuit-only season.
DEPREDATIONS AND HUMAN
INTERACTIONS-CONFLICTS
Complaints that come to the Arizona
Game and Fish Department can take 1 of 2
routes: nuisance wildlife or depredation.
Nuisance complaints are dealt with through
advice and education. Should a mountain
lion pose a threat to public safety, the
Department will dispatch a wildlife manager
to deal with the immediate situation,
although we frequently contract with USDA
APHIS Wildlife Services to conduct
removal efforts. Between 1998 and 2002,
312 public safety incidents have been
reported involving mountain lions. The
trend of these reports over time has been
steeply increasing (29 in 1998, 105 in 2002;
Table 2). This increase in reports may be
Table 2. Public incident reports that included
mountain lions in Arizona excluding tribal
lands, 1998-2002.
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Number of Incidents
Reported
29
43
46
89
105
attributed to mountain lions pursuing prey
near residential areas (which may be
exacerbated by drought conditions),
increasing residential development in
mountain lion habitat, and the public's
greater familiarity with the reporting
process. During that time, few mountain
lions (