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The Usual Suspects: Potential Predators of West Texas Article and Photos by Dr Borderlands News The Usual Suspects: Potential Predators of West Texas article and photos by Dr. Louis Harveson Life in the desert is not for the weak. Whether you’re a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore, your life’s pursuit is to obtain enough food, to reproduce and to live another day. Predators make a living by killing and consuming other animals; however, predators are not created equally. Each predator species has a unique role in the ecosystem that varies by region, habitat, body size, digestive system and even by their dentition (teeth). Predator-prey basics Mountain lions are the most formidable There are three simple rules that govern predator-prey dynamics. predator in West Texas, capable of taking First, predators were made to kill. the biggest of prey. Second, prey were made to evade predators. And third, the number of predators on a landscape is limited by the amount of biomass and energy it produces. The first two principles are pretty straight- forward, but the third requires more explanation. The analogy to the third principle is carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of herbivores the land can sustain. That limit is determined by the amount of forage produced for consumption. Similarly, predators are limited by the amount of forage (prey abundance) available to them. Ultimately, whether it is herbivores (prey) or carnivores (predators), they are limited by the productivity of the forage (habitat). This concept is best illustrated by the accompany- ing food pyramid figure. For most of the western part of the state, six mammals are com- monly implicated in most predation: grey fox, red fox, bobcat, coyote, black bear and mountain lion. Over the last 15 years, researchers at Sul Ross State University (SRSU) have Scene of the crime: a whitetail buck taken down by a mountain lion. 20 | Texas Wildlife | July 2010 Texas-Wildlife.org conducted a variety of studies on mine their diets. Fifty samples study, SRSU researchers obtained Black bears are the largest these “suspects” and have learned were taken from the Trans-Pecos samples from the Hill Country and predator of the West. Historically, much about them. My purpose is and 25 from the western Hill the Trans-Pecos. black bears ranged over most of to summarize those studies and Country. Bobcats are true carnivores. Texas, but they have been extir- draw conclusions on the role each The non-native red fox is Unlike the fox species, they exclu- pated from almost all of their for- of them plays in West Texas. much larger than its native cousin sively consume meat. Bobcats are mer range. Although black bears have been sighted in portions of Admitted biases the grey fox. Average weights effective predators with more than for red fox range from six to 31 90 percent of their diet consisting the Hill Country, Trans-Pecos, and The fox, bobcat and coyote pounds. Red fox are primarily of rabbits, hares and other small Pineywoods, black bears occur in data reported below are biased. found in the Hill Country and other prey. Because of their body size small, isolated sky islands of far That is, when landowners find eastern regions of the state. Grey and effective stalking behavior, West Texas, including the Chisos, depredated livestock, they com- and red fox differ in size and color, sheep and goats are especially Davis, and Del Norte mountain monly trap in the vicinity of the but do prefer similar habitats (e.g., susceptible to bobcats. Bobcats ranges. Black bears can range kill and catch the depredating woodlands). In the same study as can also take deer seasonally. from 90 to 400 pounds and have (guilty) predator. Because the prior, SRSU students were also In northern ranges of the United samples were obtained from able to obtain 45 stomachs of States, deer occur in the diet of predator trappers, there is a higher red fox to conduct similar dietary bobcats in winter because of probability that the diet of these analysis. die-offs and malnourishment. In samples contains livestock or other the South (including Texas), deer prey species that are valuable to The biggest difference occur more frequently in the diets ranchers (e.g., deer). Thus, many between the diets of the two fox of bobcats during spring, when of the stomach samples obtained species is that the larger red fox they are able to stalk and over- in the grey fox, red fox, bobcat were more carnivorous and con- come deer fawns. and coyote studies are biased. We sumed larger prey items, including This black bear sow and her two livestock. Whereas, the smaller Coyotes are also ubiquitous would expect a lower occurrence large cubs are signs the West’s of livestock in the diet of these grey fox was more omnivorous and in Texas, occurring in all ecore- biggest predator is making a species than is reported in the focused on smaller prey, with a gions. Coyotes weigh between 17 comeback in the Trans-Pecos’ sidebar, “What’s on the Menu.” large part of their diet being plants and 50 pounds and can have litters sky islands. and insects. Of the 120 fox stom- up to six pups. Other researchers The Line-up achs analyzed, none contained have demonstrated compensatory one to three cubs every other year, The smallest of the suspects deer, and almost all of the birds reproduction in coyotes, in that which lends to their slow popula- is the grey fox. Grey fox weigh identified were song birds. the more that they are removed tion growth. in at five to 14 pounds, have litters The first of our felines is the from an area the larger the litters of three to six kits, and are usually Black bears can and will kill bobcat. Bobcats have been found they produce. Using 208 coyote associated with woodland habitats. livestock. But in our study, we found in every Texas county and thrive in samples from the Hill Country and Grey fox occur across most of no traces of livestock in their diet. thick cover where they are able to Trans-Pecos, researchers reported Texas, including portions of the Black bears also commonly eat stalk their prey. Bobcats can weigh a high incidence of livestock in the Trans-Pecos and the Hill Country. carrion. The traces of deer and from nine to 40 pounds and typi- diet of coyotes from both regions. Researchers at SRSU obtained 75 javelina found in our study were cally give birth to one to five kit- Big game species are grey fox from trappers to deter- thought to have been from carrion tens each spring. Similar to the fox especially vulnerable to coyote (e.g., road-killed). From a dietary predation during two seasons for standpoint, black bears can be Smaller than the non-native red fox, the little grey fox feeds two different cohorts of the prey equated to an overgrown raccoon. on insects about as often as it does on rodents. population. During spring, coyotes They can eat almost anything, and are effective in locating neonate they gorge themselves whenever fawns. Once the fawns are able to they can (including protein or corn stand and effectively run with their intended for deer). Black bears are mother, the likelihood of being also sloppy predators. When they preyed upon by coyotes decreases do kill livestock or big game, they substantially. The second sea- make a huge mess of things. They son that big game fall to coyote overtake their prey by sheer force, predation is following the rut. After many times bludgeoning them. exhausting themselves pursuing Prey carcasses are heavily bruised does, bucks may lose up to 25 per- when killed by bears. cent of their body mass resulting in depleted nutrient reserves. This Mountain lions are the malnutrition makes them vulner- Lamborghinis of Texas predators: able to coyote predation. sleek and stealthy. Like many of our large predators, they once Texas-Wildlife.org Texas Wildlife | July 2010 | 21 claimed a much broader distribution in Texas than they currently occupy. Mountain lions occurred in all 10 ecoregions on Texas, with maybe the exception of the High Plains region. M^WjÉiedj^[C[dk Today, mountain lions are found MOUNTAIN LIONS in the Trans-Pecos, portions of the In South Texas, rabbits and rodents represented 33 percent of their diet, followed by feral Hill Country and portions of South hogs (28 percent), deer (26 percent) and javelinas (12 percent). Summarizing five studies Texas. Sightings (and even verifiable in the Trans-Pecos, mountain lion diets typically consist of 54 percent deer, 13 percent evidence) do occur in other portions javelina, 11 percent rabbits and rodents, 10 percent porcupine, 7 percent livestock and 5 of the state, but they are extremely percent other items. rare. Mountain lions weigh in at 80 to BLACK BEARS 150 pounds, but a 125-pound tom is In the Big Bend, black bears were dependent on plants for food in all seasons of the typical for Texas. The primary habitat year. The winter diet of black bears was almost exclusively plant matter (98 percent). In feature required by mountain lions is spring, their diet shifted slightly to animal matter (16 percent), but vegetation was still the screening topographic or vegetative dominant food stuff (82 percent). In both summer and fall, their diets were 86 percent plant cover. matter and 11 percent animal matter. The animal foods consumed by black bears came in the form of caterpillars, insects, small mammals and a small amount of deer and javelina. Like bobcats, mountain lions The composition of plant matter changed seasonally, with more hard mast (acorns, are strict carnivores.
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