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Posted by Rob (Member # 75) on March 11, 2005, 04:41 PM:
Wolf-cougar relationship examined
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- Researchers are trying to gauge how the reintroduction of wolves to northwestern Wyoming and central Idaho has affected mountain lions.
The issue came up during scientific presentations at the seventh Mountain Lion Workshop, which drew cougar researchers from as far away as British Columbia, Florida and Mexico.
Multiple studies have been launched to see how mountain lions are responding to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 and 1996.
Some researchers have documented wolves usurping lion kills and, in some cases, killing cougars and their kittens. Researchers in Idaho cited competition with wolves as contributing to a drop in the mountain lion population.
Howard Quigley, a senior scientist with Beringia South, a science and education organization based in Kelly, said reintroducing wolves has meant a radical change for lions.
"Cougars have been without wolves in this valley for decades," he said.
Many researchers believe that lions changed their behavior in the absence of wolves and must now readjust. In Yellowstone, cougar researcher Toni Ruth has been seeing more wolf tracks in core cougar habitat.
But she said it is too soon to say whether wolves are affecting the distribution and density of lion populations.
Ruth, a scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, has documented some dramatic encounters between wolves and lions in northern Yellowstone. In the winter of 1999, she said, wolves killed four kittens that were following their mother through deep snow.
The kittens were vulnerable prey. Four is a large litter, and the kittens were all underweight. Moreover, it was difficult to try to flee through the snow, she said.
Last month, a wolf pack killed an adult female lion, orphaning her two kittens, which starved three weeks later, she said.
Ruth is investigating whether lions will have to expend more energy killing prey as wolves usurp lion kills.
The data so far suggest that lions kill prey slightly more often than wolves. More research is needed to determine whether lion kill rates are increasing compared to before wolves reintroduction.
Despite a rapidly increasing wolf population, researchers have yet to demonstrate a statistically significant increase in lion-wolf encounters.
"What we might see, but we haven't seen yet, is an increase in encounter rate," she said. "Cougars are pretty good at trying to avoid those kinds of interactions."
Ruth has documented cougars moving to rocky cliff outcrops when wolves are in the area. In addition, cougars have tended to bed down close to kills and be vigilant in keeping scavengers away.
A hard winter could lead to more wolf-lion encounters.
Researchers reported that wolves and lions favor the same prey, primarily elk and deer, but researchers like Ruth are investigating whether lions will shift to other prey such as bighorn sheep and antelope if they have to compete with wolves.
University of Idaho researchers James and Holly Akenson have been studying cougars in Idaho's Big Creek drainage. Wolves showed up in the drainage in 1998.
In 2000, a wildfire swept through the study area, scorching most of an elk winter range. As a result, wolves left the study area and followed elk to another winter range.
But lions remained in the burned area and exploited other prey such as starving ungulates. They killed three moose that were in poor condition, Holly Akenson said.
Even so, the researchers documented a sharp decline in the lion population, from 10 adults at the beginning of the fire to just six after the wildfire. Three cougars were confirmed to have died in the fire.
[ March 11, 2005, 04:45 PM: Message edited by: Rob ]
Posted by Cal Taylor (Member # 199) on March 11, 2005, 05:03 PM:
Good stuff as always Rob.
Posted by Steve Craig (Member # 12) on March 11, 2005, 08:16 PM:
Good read, Rob.
Heck, coyotes effect how many deer a lion kills a year too. I can certainly see the wolves doing the same thing.
Steve
Posted by Rich Higgins (Member # 3) on March 12, 2005, 07:16 AM:
Steve, how do coyotes effect the number of deer that lions kill?
Crabtree stated that lions killed five to ten percent of the coyote population in Yellowstone each year. Prior to 1995 when the wolves were reintroduced that number was estimated at 600 coyotes. He also stated that he had seen packs of coyotes drive lions off their deer kills. Is that what you mean?
Posted by Steve Craig (Member # 12) on March 14, 2005, 04:16 PM:
On average in AZ., not WY, or Id. or Mt., ARIZONA! A lion kills 1 deer every 7 to 10 days. Now they are killing 2 to 3 every 7 to 10 days. All due to an over population of coyotes. So, not only are those 10,000 to 12,000 breeding pairs of coyotes killing 2 to 8 fawns every spring, but because a pair of coyotes can clean up a lion kill in just a few hours,they are causing the lion to kill more deer. One more reason we are not seeing the deer in the numbers we used to. 3 or 4 coyotes will run a lion off his kill. I have seen it many times.
Question:
Why did the lion population suddenly explode in the mid 90's? Untill that time, lion numbers remained very stable for many many years.
Food for thought,
Steve
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 14, 2005, 05:11 PM:
Steve, you should be able to figure that one out? The reason, here in CA? The moratorium for the past 25 years. We have at least three times as many as previouly, and they never were endangered.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Lonny (Member # 19) on March 14, 2005, 09:20 PM:
Steve, interesting question. I'd like to hear your take on it when you get a chance.
We also had a big increase in lion numbers here in Idaho in the 90's. The number of lions killed has dropped off to almost half of what it was a few years ago. Mostly due to longer seasons, two lion limits in some units, and more people getting into the game. Around 300 lions per year were being killed at the high point in the mid 90's in North Central Idaho. It has now dropped to around 150 per year. These are pretty solid stats because all lions must be checked and a tooth pulled before you can legally do anything with it.
I think part of the reason may be because for years only the most diehard houndsmen were chasing lions. They killed very few if any females but would take the large males. I tend to believe that maybe this taking of only adult males for quite a number of years allowed more young lions to survive than normal and caused a slow but steady increase in population and filled up the decent lion habitat. Suddenly people were seeing lions in strange places and the cry went out for longer seasons. More people bought hounds and being new to the sport took lots of younger and female lions now the population is going down again.
[ March 14, 2005, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: Lonny ]
Posted by Barndog (Member # 255) on March 16, 2005, 12:07 PM:
The real question is. When can we start hunting wolves? You guys up there around Yellowstone hear anything? I'm talking legal hunting, not livestock-rancher compensation stuff.
[ March 16, 2005, 12:11 PM: Message edited by: Barndog ]
Posted by Barndog (Member # 255) on March 16, 2005, 12:10 PM:
One other thing about lions: its desire to kill is greater than its need to kill. One summer up on Cedar Mountian one sheep owner lost 90+ sheep in one night while a female was teaching her two cubs to kill. Now that was a sight, I wish I had a camera.
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