Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT FOR TEXAS
JOHN YOUNG, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 3000 IH 35 South Suite 100, Austin, TX
78612, USA, email: john.young@tpwd.state.tx.us
Texas does not currently have a
statewide management plan for mountain
lions and the species is classified as nongame.
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department (TPWD) non-game codes
authorize the agency to establish hunting
seasons, to close seasons, set bag limits,
establish management zones, in other words,
to utilize all of the management tools
available for game species. With the
exception of a short list of non-game species
of concern to TPWD, non-game species may
be taken at any time of the year in any
numbers, which is the case for mountain
lions at the present time. TPWD’s objective
for mountain lions is to maintain a viable
population, while minimizing human
conflicts. No changes in mountain lion
status have occurred in the past decade.
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE
Based on confirmed sightings and
mortality records mountain lions are most
common in the Trans Pecos and the brush
country of South Texas. Mortality records
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Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop
over the last 20 years combined with photos
confirm at least the occasional presence of
lions in all other sections of the state; more
information is needed to determine
population levels. Based on sightings, and
voluntarily reported mortalities dating back
to 1983, mountain lion populations appear
stable. Table 1 presents mountain lion
mortality information by ecological region
for the time frame 1998/99 to 2001/02
Texas does not currently estimate mountain
lion populations, opting to monitor the
species using sightings and mortality
reports. The lack of a satisfactory
scientifically rigorous method to estimate
mountain lions has been the primary reason
TPWD has not attempted to do so. Texas
has recently provided funding to a
university-based scientist to estimate
mountain lion population size, structure, and
habitat factors utilizing new, highly credible
molecular genetics. The study will be
conducted over the next 2 years and will
provide an estimate for Texas’ mountain
lion population.
Table 1. Mountain lion mortalities by ecological region, September 1998 through September 2002.
Ecological Region 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 20001/02
Pineywoods 0 0 0 0
Gulf Prairie & Marshes 0 3 0 0
Post Oak Savannah 0 0 0 0
Blackland Prairies 0 0 0 0
Cross Timbers 0 0 0 1
South Texas Plains 7 10 0 4
Edwards Plateau 30 14 6 12
Rolling Plains 0 0 0 0
High Plains 0 0 0 0
Trans-Pecos 92 60 64 48