Southern California Cougar - Bobcat Study Wildlife Health Center – UC Davis Winston Vickers and Walter Boyce The Nature Conservancy Scott Morrison, Carole Bell, Trish Smith, Brian Cohen Orange Co. Parks Donna Krucki • Short, squat musculature, long, lithe frame. • Powerful posterior, heavy tail. • Narrow shoulders for maneuverability. • Average wts. – Females 70 – 90 pounds, Males 130 – 160 pounds The Frequency of Feeding • Lifespan – up to 12 years in the wild, and 25+ in captivity (oldest in our study is 8 – 10 years) • Litter size 2 – 4 kittens • Kittens surviving to adulthood – 1 – 2 • Kittens stay with mother to ~1 ½ years of age • Energetic needs (source -Ackerman – Utah State): – Adult cougar - 1 deer every 16 days, a female and three 3-month olds, 1 deer every 9 days Camouflaged Southern California Project - Began in 2001 Research focus: •Landscape connectivity – Barriers to movement - Corridors •Genetics, Health, and Disease / Toxin Exposure •Minimizing conflicts between people, cougars, and domestic animals •Bighorn – Deer – Cougar – Bobcat interactions Critical habitat linkages that we are studying Studying pumas Cameras document collared and uncollared pumas Capture and check health – Take blood, DNA, feces, GPS collar Drag Mark > Track movements and behavior Relatively small cage traps are effective for cougar capture Traps are monitored by radio continuously once set Traps checked within ½ - 1 hour of door closing Little apparent stress Lions often feed on deer in trap Anesthetized cougar Monitoring vital signs under anesthesia Taking measurements Front paw of male cougar Checking teeth Weighing sedated male cougar Applying GPS collar Examining cougar kitten Tracking collar radio signals Recording data 65 mountain lions captured 57 radio-collared (56 GPS, 1 VHF) one or more times 90+ mountain lions sampled for DNA, disease, and toxins Data points are clear evidence of habitat use and movement However, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” Life through the eyes of a lion Community Science Most of mountain and foothill areas of southern California are cougar habitat, but much is fragmented and quality varies widely Burdett et al, Ecosphere Aug 2010: -Approximately 10% of the study area will transform from exurban, rural, or undeveloped areas to suburban or urban by 2030, and 35% of suitable puma habitat on private land in 1970 will have been lost by 2030. - Cougars in fragmented or exurban habitat are at significantly higher mortality risk than those in rural or wild lands 30 of 56 (54%) collared cougars Risks to southern and 1 captured but uncollared cougar are confirmed to have died California cougars while circulating in the wild Over half of the mortalities of cougars while circulating in the wild were directly related to humans, suggesting similar impacts are likely in the rest of the cougar population: Car strikes (20%) Depredation permits (20%) Disease confirmed or likely (17%) Unknown cause (13%) Illegal shootings (13%) Fire – human set (6%) Shootings deemed legal (3%) 1 lion (F20 above) Another cougar (3%) was shot but Unknown but trauma suspected survived (3%) Freeways, development, and border defense are barriers to mt. lion movement Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. Cumulative mt. lion data points in the Santa Ana Mtns – 5 years of data. Genetics findings • Ernest et al, Conservation Genetics, 2003 • Used samples from multiple studies across the state, including ours and Paul Beiers’ • Lions in the Santa Ana Mtn’s showed the greatest genetic isolation among the 8 subpopulations studied in California at that time Fire Effects Santiago Fire outline (red hatch) superimposed on F44 territory F44 in these hills when fire began ©Scott Vickers Outline of San Diego County’s Cedar Fire superimposed on Santa Ana Mts. with lion territories plotted – fire of this magnitude could have a significant impact on this lion population Recent first documented dispersal out of Santa Anas to Palomars and beyond by a collared lion (M56) Recent first documented crossing of US-Mexico border by collared lion (M53) Daytime appearance of Gopher Canyon undercrossing where M56 apparently crossed in the middle of the night, though may have crossed the freeway at grade Pavement is 4 lanes wide through the undercrossing Photo taken looking east – his direction of travel M56 dispersal path North and west San Diego Co. conserved lands that M56 and other cougars move through are highly fragmented M56 killed here on depredation permit related to inadequately protected sheep Coal Canyon undercrossing into Chino Hills – no confirmed use by radiocollared cougars Both cougars struck on the 91 Fwy in 2008 were within a short distance of the undercrossing, and were struck during early morning rush hour approximately 6:30 AM Red crosses denote Datapoints from each individual approximate sites where mountain lion are a different color cougars have been struck Datapoints are cumulative for the by cars 2003-2010 entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. If you build it will they always use it? Culvert 50 meters from where F50 was struck by car One of 3 within a half mile stretch of the site No tall fencing present to funnel wildlife into safe passages Northern Santa Ana Mtns Following slides move south along eastern escarpment .Cougars routinely utilize the lower ridges, canyons, and escarpment between and around “fingers” of development Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations o mountain lions present at any given point in time. Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations o mountain lions present at any given point in time. Datapoints from each individual Cougars utilize narrow mountain lion are a different color strips of remaining habitat Datapoints are cumulative for the along escarpment as one entire time of the study and do not of 2 remaining wild habitat represent the numbers or locations of pathways to and from the mountain lions present at any given Santa Rosa Plateau point in time. Reserve LaCresta Community Santa Rosa Plateau M26 Data Points Lake Elsinore <<< Interstate 15 LaCresta M26 shot here > <Tenaja Corridor The Tenaja corridor is the most protected pathway allowing cougars to move between the Santa Rosa Plateau and conserved habitat to the west. However, cougars are likely exposed to increased edge effects due to the corridor’s patchy character Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. Red dots represent all mt. lion datapoints to date in the area of the Santa Ana to Palomar Mountains corridor Santa Ana to Palomar Red dots represent all mt. lion Mt.’s Linkage datapoints to date in the area of the Santa Ana to Palomar Mt.’s linkage. Red lines connect datapoints that are adjacent to each other in time. Red lines do not represent exact paths traveled by mt. lions between any 2 data points. Possible future disruptions of Santa Ana to Palomar Mountains corridor Proposed gravel mine, highway interchange, and high speed rail line Red dots represent all mt. lion datapoints to date in the area of the Santa Ana to Palomar Mt.’s linkage. Red lines connect datapoints that are adjacent to each other in time. Red lines do not represent exact paths traveled by mt. lions between any 2 data points. Temecula Creek Bridge and culverts are regarded as primary potential I-15 crossing points, but no collared cougars have utilized them to date Datapoints from each individual mountain lion are a different color Datapoints are cumulative for the entire time of the study and do not represent the numbers or locations of mountain lions present at any given point in time. M56 chose to cross at a highway undercrossing located in a matrix of ag lands, residences, and fragmented wildlands Roads and barriers • Busy roads are both barriers to cougar movement and hazards to them and other wildlife when crossing is attempted • Most roads and highways in southern California have no effective restrictions to cougars entering the roadway, and some have few other options for safe wildlife crossing • Cougars and deer sometimes enter roadways, if not prevented from doing so by fencing, even when safer crossing options are nearby. This may occur in relation to behavioral, energetic, situational, geographic / habitat, or other reasons that are poorly understood at this time. • Preservation and improvement of existing safe crossing points, or creation of new crossing structures, may increase the ability