A Preliminary Study of the Mountain Lion : Felis Oregonensis Sp

A Preliminary Study of the Mountain Lion : Felis Oregonensis Sp

University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository UNM Bulletins Scholarly Communication - Departments 1937 A preliminary study of the mountain lion : felis oregonensis sp. Frank Cummings Hibben Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/unm_bulletin Recommended Citation Hibben, Frank Cummings. "A preliminary study of the mountain lion : felis oregonensis sp.." University of New Mexico biological series, v. 5, no. 3, University of New Mexico bulletin, whole no. 318 5, 3 (1937). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/unm_bulletin/30 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarly Communication - Departments at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNM Bulletins by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. , ! The University of New Mexico Bulletin • A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION (FELIS OREGONENSIS sp.) Price 50c By FRANK C. HIBBEN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO BULLETIN December 15, 1937 Whole Number 318 Biological Series. Vol. 5, No, 3 Published monthly in January. March. May, July, September, and November, and semi-monthly in February. April, June, August, October, and December h}1' ·the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico Entered as Second Class Matter, May 1, 1906. at the post office at Albuquerque, New Mexico, under Act of Congress July 16, 1894 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS 1937 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS :1 1" The survey of the mountain lion could not have been ;:, ',': carried on without the aid of several agencies and men. The I, ii' committee of the Southwestern Conservation League was instrumental in instigating the investigation. This commit­ tee is made up of Dr. E. F. Castetter, Judge C. M. Botts, Mr. Arthur N. Pack, Mr. Elliott Barker, Dr. Fred W. Allen, Mr. Stokley Ligon, and Dr. John D. Clark. The whole fabric of the New Mexico Game Department under the leadership of Elliott Barker was placed at the disposal of the lion survey. The Biological Survey in New Mexico and Arizona lent its invaluable aid under the leadership of Mr. Don Gil­ christ. Mr. Ben Foster and Mr. John Gatlin, also of the Biological Survey, aided with their resources and kindly suggestions. Dr. Walter P. Taylor, the examining biologist' 'for the Biological Survey, was ever an inspiration and a practical helper of the man in the field. The friendly and total co-operation of the lion hunters themselves, Mr. Homer Pickens, Mr. Frank Colcord, Mr. Giles Goswick, and Mr. 'Emmett Bannerman, cannot be overestimated. Mr. Edward Preble, as well as members of the commit­ tee, gave many valuable suggestions and corrections in the reading of the manuscript. [ 3 ] i:1 'ili)' I,,'i"i . "',.,l I" '\' , ' II' ,: i I" INTRODUCTION During one year's time, from October, 1934, and extend­ ing over into September, 1935, an investigator was placed in the field to make a special study of the mountain lion. TABLE OF CONTENTS The agency which was so interested was the Southwestern I ~ I Page Conservation League, which had received Iunds from private Introduction ! sources for the purpose of the investigation. The scientific 1:1 I 5" , " Procedure aspects of the project were carried on under the auspices 7 of the biology department of the University of New Mexico. The Lion as Game _ 9 The New Mexico Game Department and the United States Lion Relations with Human Beings _ 12 Biological Survey also helped and fostered the investigation. Lion Country-Habitat _ by supplying the means, through their separate agencies, by "15 which the investigator could come in contact with the lions. Movements and Migrations _ 17 The ground to be covered was necessarily limited to a The Lion Scream _ 20 comparatively small area, because of limitations both of The Scrape _ time and of finances. The area covered was originally in.: 23 tended to be the complete Southwest, i. e., New Mexico, Mating 28 Arizona, southern California, and western Texas. It became The Lion Den or Lair __ 32 evident immediately that even this area was too large to be The Kill covered in the space of a year; therefore, only New Mexico 35 and Arizona were studied. Report of the Investigation on Deer 37 It has long been felt by increasipg numbers of natural­ Scatology _ 48 ists, foresters, stockm"en, and woodsmen in general that very Foods of the Lion in the Southwest _ little actually was known about certain phases of our wild 52 life. This applied especially to the class of the predators Bibliography 59 which had been hunted relentlessly since the coming of the white man and a knowledge of whose life history was purely incidental to their elimination. The mountain lion, being the largest of these, and perhaps also the most pictur- .esque, was singled out first for study. It must be emphasized at this point that this study was to arrive at no definite con­ elusions; was to work towards the establishing of no definite preconceived theories. Facts only were to be gathered and presented for anyone's conclusion. Also, it must be em­ phasized that but a scattering of these facts could" be ob­ tained in a year. All facts pertinent to the life history of [ 5 ] 6 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO the mountain lion, which came to notice, were, collected a d duly tabulated. n A PreliminaryStudy of the Mountain Lion Another ~act which l~nt impetus to this investigation (Felis Oregonensis sp'.) was ~he growmg alarm, eIther real or imagined, over the scarcIty of lions. It was felt that the lion was in dang PROCEDURE f t' t' . seve~al er o ex mc IOn .m areas of his former range. The Necessarily, it was impossible for an investigator number of. lIons WhICh the modern hunter 'encountered trained in general field methods to go into the area and was alarmmgly small compared to that reported two' or immediately assume the duties of a practiced lion hunter. three decades ago.,. It seemed best to take up the study of , The mainstay of lion hunting being, of course, well-trained ~here the cougar first whIle were still sufficient numbers of hounds, this investigation depended entirely upon the packs them to supply materIal for a report. Even though there of the State Game Department and of the Biological Survey. ~ay be some truth to the contention that the number of By the gracious courtesy of these agencies the field naturalist lIons is now alarmingly small, there seems to be no immedi­ was allowed to accompany the professional lion hunters on ate danger of their extinction. Their range is so great over their hunts. The lion dogs used in these expeditions were So~th both North and America that it probably will be many specially bred and trained for lions, and are the best that yea~s before they will even grow scarce over all this vast can be obtained anywhere in the United States. These te~rItory. It must be said" however, that in certain moun­ dogs and their abilities are valued at many hundreds of tam ~anges of New Mexico and Arizona the lion is now a dollars apiece. Not a little information, also, was gleaned very mfrequent visitor, so that the writer had difficulty in 'rom the stories as told by the hunters themselves. In all several of the areas in finding enough lions to make even ~' ,his hunting, of course, the investigator had to gather his casu~l ob~ervation; although many a lion track which yielded material while on the lion's trail, it being the business of no hon ~Ill for ~he paid hunter nevertheless gave a 'great the professional hunters to kill the lion. deal of mformatlOn to ,the investigator under the guidance Many camps were made in widely separated areas and of the trained noses of the hounds. ' in all the different life zones where lions might be found. 'Can the lion and, domestic animals be reconciled,? The accompanying map (Page 8) indicates the collecting. Does the situation vary with the place, with the season? These and a hundred other questions are being passed stations and the approximate areas covered during the ~round at game meetings, at forestry associations; and the survey.' It is felt that the regions covered are fairly repre­ lIke. Whatever the merits of the question, the attitude is at sentative of the Southwest. least stimulating, and a year's study of this interesting ani­ In New Mexico, the able hunters, Homer Pickens and mal has certainly brought out the need for accurate in­ Emmett Bannerman, the former of the New Mexico Game formation. Department and the latter of the Biological Survey, allowed . The mountain lion has long been known by many and the writer to accompany them. In Arizona, the survey was varIOUS names-.:.cougar, painter, panther, catamount, puma conducted with Frank Colcord and Giles Goswick, both' gr~at old-time lion hunters and both of the Biological Survey. 1('1 I and a many other local variations. Theseappelations ,', I are practIcally synonymous, for there is only the one species Many side trips 'were taken also to trace (lown' some lion throughout the whole of the cougars' range. These names [ 7 ] will be used interchangeably in the text. , i:1 ---- PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION .[ 9 story or to interview some rancher who had a reputation . for "knowing lions." All the lion stomachs which could be secured were brought back to the laboratory at the University of New Mexico and there subjected to analysis for hair contained and a microscopic examination for bone fragments, claws, hooves, etc. The dung specimens were packed in envelopes duly labeled and dated and brought back to the laboratory.

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