Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

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144 PRESENCE AND MOVEMENTS OF LACTATING AND MATERNAL FEMALE COUGARS: IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE HUNTING REGULATIONS TONI K. RUTH, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2023 Stadium Dr. Suite 1A, Bozeman, MT 59030, USA, email: truth@montanadsl.net KERRY M. MURPHY, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth, WY 89210, USA, email: kerry_murphy@nps.gov POLLY C. BUOTTE, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2023 Stadium Dr. Suite 1A, Bozeman, MT 59030, USA, email: polly_thornton@hotmail.com Abstract: Established in the early 1970’s, the regulation of cougar harvest through hunting seasons and quotas contributed to increases in cougar abundance and distribution in most western states during the past 30 years. Today, 10 of 12 western U.S. states regulate cougar harvest through hunting seasons and quotas, which vary by state, year, and in season length and quota numbers. California prohibits cougar hunting and Texas allows unlimited hunting and therefore lacks regulations. Three of 11 states that allow cougar hunting regulate the harvest of female lions through subquotas. Two states that do not regulate female harvest do not allow the use of hounds for hunting cougars. Hunting regulations in 9 of 11 states prohibit killing spotted kittens and females with spotted kittens. Only one state, Montana, requires hunters to backtrack lactating females that have been killed in order to locate dependent young. While regulations prohibiting the take of maternal females and affording protection to nonmaternal females through subquotas should remain in place, little information has been provided to hunters, guides and outfitters, or state managers on the proportion and movements of lactating and maternal females which may be encountered during hunting seasons. We examined reproductive data for a moderately hunted cougar population (1988-1992) and a primarily non-hunted population (1998- 2002) on the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park. Proportion of females with dependent (pre-dispersal) offspring was calculated across winters. We summarized breeding, denning, and lactation chronology for maternal females from both study periods. Peak breeding occurred in March through May and denning followed approximately 3 months later, peaking in June through August. Given a 4-month lactation period, proportion of lactating females (n = 19 known date births or births estimated to
MYSTERY, MYTH AND LEGEND: THE POLITICS OF COUGAR MANAGEMENT IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM RICK A. HOPKINS, Live Oak Associates, Inc., 6830 Via Del Oro, Suite 805, San Jose, CA 95119, USA, email: rhopkins@loainc.com Abstract: The cougar as America’s cat is a large, ghost like predator that usually hunts game as large as or larger than it is. As Teddy Roosevelt noted in the late 1800’s, “No American beast has been the subject of so much loose writing or of such wild fables as the cougar”. More than 100 years and dozens of scientific studies later, we are no better off in unraveling the “loose writing” and in some cases, the management objectives for this predator, than we were at the beginning of the twenty century. The life style of the cat has long resulted in polarized attitudes toward the development of policies for its management throughout North America. The general “truth” that has evolved with wildlife managers regarding increasing cougar numbers throughout the West over the last 2 to 3 decades is believed to be born from 30 years of research. While numbers of cougars may have increased in portions of their range over the last 2-3 decades, the general perception that cougars are more abundant in the western U.S. is based not on empirical data, but one based more on oral traditions passed on from one wildlife professional to another. Cougar management in the last two decades focused on the impact of prey populations and depredation of livestock more than on direct encounters with humans. However, an increase in human attacks in the 1990’s has not only heightened public awareness of cougars, but appears to have explicitly shifted management in some western states to focus more on “controlling” the species. Lost in this debate and the objectives of the management of the species is the preservation of those elements that will truly lead to its conservation. California represents an interesting living lab, as cougars have not been sport hunted in this state since 1972; it also supports one of the largest cougar populations in the U.S. if not the largest, and clearly supports the largest human population. The lessons learned in California can serve as a model for continued efforts to focus management objectives on the conservation of the species and not solely on equating management with harvest as is so often done. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP 145
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface..........
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COUGAR PREDATION ON PREY IN YELLOWS
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PREFACE vii PREFACE The Wyoming Gam
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ix IN MEMORY
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2 STATUS OF MOUNTAIN LION POPULATIO
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4 STATUS OF MOUNTAIN LION POPULATIO
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CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REP
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8 CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS R
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10 CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS
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12 CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS
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COLORADO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPOR
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16 COLORADO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS RE
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FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVAT
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20 FLORIDA STATUS REPORT · Lotz an
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26 IDAHO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPOR
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28 IDAHO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPOR
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30 MONTANA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REP
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32 NEVADA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPO
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40 NEW MEXICO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS
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42 NEW MEXICO MOUNTAIN LION STATUS
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44 SOUTH DAKOTA MOUNTAIN LION STATU
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50 TEXAS MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPOR
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52 UTAH MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN
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WASHINGTON COUGAR STATUS REPORT RIC
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62 WASHINGTON COUGAR STATUS REPORT
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WYOMING MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT
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66 WYOMING MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REP
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72 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf F
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74 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf C
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76 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf A
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78 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf f
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80 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf b
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82 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf N
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84 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf C
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86 CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf m
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88 IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF M
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90 REDUCING PUMA ATTACKS · Fitzhug
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92 REDUCING PUMA ATTACKS · Fitzhug
Page 104 and 105: 94 REDUCING PUMA ATTACKS · Fitzhug
Page 110 and 111: 100 REDUCING PUMA ATTACKS · Fitzhu
Page 112 and 113: 102 REDUCING PUMA ATTACKS · Fitzhu
Page 114 and 115: 104 A CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND APPRAISA
Page 116 and 117: 106 MOUNTAIN LION MOVEMENTS AND PER
Page 118 and 119: 108 PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF FLORIDA
Page 120 and 121: 110 ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND EVO
Page 122 and 123: 112 MOUNTAIN LION BED, CACHE AND KI
Page 130 and 131: 120 EFFECT OF ROADS ON HABITAT USE
Page 132 and 133: 122 COUGAR ECOLOGY AND COUGAR-WOLF
Page 134 and 135: 124 ARE PUMAS OPPORTUNISTIC SCAVENG
Page 136 and 137: 126 COUGAR PREDATION ON PREY IN YEL
Page 138 and 139: 128 COUGAR TOTAL PREDATION RESPONSE
Page 140 and 141: 130 CHARACTERISTICS OF COUGAR HARVE
Page 146 and 147: 136 DEFINING AND DELINEATING DE FAC
Page 148 and 149: 138 MANAGEMENT OF COUGARS (PUMA CON
Page 150 and 151: 140 PROJECT CAT (COUGARS AND TEACHI
Page 152 and 153: 142 ESTIMATING COUGAR ABUNDANCE USI
Page 156 and 157: 146 RECONCILING SCIENCE AND POLITIC
Page 158 and 159: 148 PUMA MANAGEMENT IN WESTERN NORT
Page 160 and 161: 150 MOUNTAIN LIONS AND BIGHORN SHEE
Page 162 and 163: 152 DISPERSAL IN MALE PUMAS · Laun
Page 172 and 173: 162 ASSESSING GPS RADIOTELEMETRY RE
Page 174 and 175: 164 FUNCTIONAL RESPONSE OF COUGARS
Page 176 and 177: 166 DEPREDATION TRENDS IN CALIFORNI
Page 178 and 179: 168 PUMA ACTIVITY AND MOVEMENTS IN
Page 180 and 181: 170 MOUNTAIN LION SURVEY TECHNIQUES
Page 182 and 183: 172 CRITICAL COUGAR CROSSING AND BA
Page 184 and 185: 174 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Chris Beld
Page 186 and 187: 176 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Steve Fitz
Page 188 and 189: 178 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Mollie Hog
Page 190 and 191: 180 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Cheryl Le
Page 192 and 193: 182 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Ryan Nelso
Page 194 and 195: 184 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Harley Sha
Page 196: 186 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Patricia W
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Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

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