Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

population trend. A digital habitat relation
model was constructed for cougars that
ranked land in the Black Hills National
Forest according to its suitability to cougars.
The model was based on the distribution of
prey (white-tailed deer and mule deer),
stalking topography (slopes), concealment
habitat (riparian habitat), and anthropogenic
characteristics (high-density residential
areas, presence of highways). During the
winters of 1998 – 2001, we captured, radiocollared,
and obtained weekly locations of
12 cougars in the Black Hills; locations of
cougars were used to validate the habitatrelation
model. The cougar population in
the Black Hills was estimated using program
PUMA, incorporating parameters obtained
from radio-collared cougars and habitat
quality derived from the habitat-relation
model. The total number of cougars in the
Black Hills was estimated to be 127 to 149
cougars.
A 3-month pilot study, testing the
efficacy of detecting cougars using scent
lures (skunk essence, Powder River cat call)
and camera stations was conducted in
cooperation with the University of North
Dakota. The camera-scent-station survey
was not effective at detecting cougar
presence. Zero photos of cougars were
recorded although other species (whitetailed
deer, Odocoileus virginianus, mule
deer, O. hemionus, raccoon, Procyon lotor,
red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus,
turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, free-ranging
cattle, feral dogs, and bobcat, Lynx rufus)
were detected, and cougars were known to
be in the area during the survey. A snowtracking
helicopter survey (Vansickle and
Lindzey 1991) using a probability sampling
technique was attempted during the winter
of 2001-2002. Although cougar tracks of a
radio-collared female and her 2 kittens could
clearly be identified, weather conditions
(poor snow conditions) did not permit the
survey to be completed. However, a
SOUTH DAKOTA MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT · Kintigh 47
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
database of consecutive winter daily
locations of 3 male and 3 female cougars
was established to aid in analyses of any
future helicopter surveys.
During the Fall 2002, a second 5-year
study was initiated. The objectives of the
research are 1) to estimate survival and
document causes of mortality of cougar
kittens, 2) Determine longevity of
established radio-collared cougars 3)
Document dispersal distances, routes, and
destinations of subadult cougars, and 4)
conduct snow tracking helicopter population
survey to document population trends.
Currently, 12 cougars (6 females, 6 males)
including 2 subadult males are being
monitored weekly from fixed wing aircraft
using aerial radio-telemetry techniques.
PUBLICATIONS
FECSKE, D.M., J.A. JENKS, AND F.G.
LINDZEY. 2001. Characteristics of
mountain lion mortalities in the Black
Hills, South Dakota. Proceedings of the
6th Mountain Lion Workshop, San
Antonio, Texas: In Press.
FECSKE, D.M., AND J.A. JENKS. 2001. The
mountain lion returns to South Dakota.
South Dakota Conservation Digest
68(4):3-5.
FECSKE, D.M., AND J.A. JENKS. 2001.
Status report of mountain lions in South
Dakota. Proceedings of the 6th
Mountain Lion Workshop, San Antonio,
TX. In Press.
FECSKE, D.M., J.A. JENKS, AND F. G.
LINDZEY. 2003. Mortality of an adult
cougar due to a forest fire in the Black
Hills. The Prairie Naturalist 00:
Submitted.
GIGLIOTTI, L.M., D.M. FECSKE, AND J.A.
JENKS. 2002. Mountain lions in South
Dakota: A public opinion survey. South
Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and
Parks, Pierre, SD. 182 pp.
LONG, E.S., D.M. FECSKE, R.A. SWEITZER,
J.A. JENKS, B.M. PIERCE, AND V.C.