Non-Invasive Capture and Censusing Techniques for Mountain Lion (Pum concolor) in National Parks: Whats Available, Whats Appropriate?
Hunter DO and Terrell T. Non-Invasive Capture and Censusing Techniques for Mountain Lion (Pum concolor) in National Parks: Whats Available, Whats Appropriate?
Although the majority of the more than 200 NPS units in the West have mountain lion they have little or no information with which to manage this keystone species. This situation highlights the pressing need for science-based inventory and monitoring (I&M) protocols that employ "park-appropriate" capture and censusing techniques. Most experts agree that meaningful research on mountain lions has to be long-term, and they either agree it is inherently expensive and difficult to get statistically large datasets. New, non-invasive methods and techniques such as camera traps, DNA analyses, and satellite telemetry all hold promise for aiding mountain lion research; but because of expense and difficulty, few studies provide convincing evidence that these approaches are "better" than conventional, more invasive approaches. This past year's effort conducted along Colorado's northern Front Range reinforced just how diflicult mountain lions are to study. While tests of non-invasive systems such as cameras traps and call boxes were successful, progress was slow and far from providing enough data to develop conclusive I&M protocols, especially protocols that rely on non-invasive techniques.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Hunter, Don; Terrell, Terry
- Units
- ROMO
- Keywords
- call boxes, camera traps, Capture, censusing techniques, DNA analyses, GPS locations, invasive approaches, Keystone species, Mountain Lion, non-invasive, remote downloads, remote downloadz, satelitte telemetry