Cougar Population Dynamics in Southern Utah
Lindzey FG, Van Sickle WD, Ackerman BB, Barnhurst D, Hemker TP, Laing SP. 1994. Cougar Population Dynamics in Southern Utah. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 58(4):619-624
We monitored size and composition of a southern Utah cougar (Felis concolor) population during 1979-87 to document the dynamics of this unhunted population and to test the hypothesis that cougars would regulate their density at a level below that set by prey abundance alone (Seidensticker et al. 1973). We captured cougars when detected during ongoing searches for sign in the study area. Resident adult cougar density remained relatively constant (0.37/100 km2) for the first 7 years but increased slightly in the last 2 years. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the cougar's primary prey, increased over the 9 years, but magnitude of this increase was unknown. Results supported the hypothesis that cougar density is set by environmental features other than prey abundance alone. Adult resident females bred as young as 17 months and produced litters that averaged 2.4 kittens at an interval of 24.3 months.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Lindzey, Frederick; Van Sickle, Walter; Ackerman, Bruce; Barnhurst, Dan; Hemker, Thomas; Laing, Steven
- Units
- LAKE , ORPI , SAGU
- Keywords
- Felis concolor (Mountain Lion), Population Dynamics, Reproduction, Utah, Wildlife