Cougar Study 2010 Utah State Unversity

We all have our own empirical knowledge based on our own field observations and from the stories and experiences told by others, factual and embelished, according to the integrity and understanding of the story teller, when it comes to cougars, their nature and their influence on their environment, be it predator or prey.

This study, is pretty comprehensive, and lengthy in scope and sequence, and maybe of some interest to some of you. At the least, it may add some clarity to your emperical understanding and explain some of the thinkg we think we see or know, when we see or hear of cougars in our stomping grounds.

It is a recent study, by a reputable academic institution. For what it's worth.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/...le.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1694&context=etd

DC

Well that study talked a lot about what type of habitat (terrain, slope, vegetation, distance from roads, distance from water, etc.) cougars use during the day and during the night. It also talked about what habitat they kill deer in.

Unfortunately I could not find any information in the 289 pages that talked about how many deer a cougar will kill.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-18-17 AT 01:54PM (MST)[p] I read the report and had the same results as you did. a lot of habitat and terrain info.
So my empirical knowledge improved very little. I hunted Lions for years as a young man, with hounds. I already knew the habitat I was likely to find them in. I also seem to remember coming across a few dead Deer that Lions had killed. I also remember Elk, Beaver, and Turkeys. all taken by Lions. in the 80's if we had trouble finding a track to run we went in the canyons the DWR had placed turkey feeders, for the newly transplanted turkeys, usually a lion or 2 hanging around those canyons for some strange reason. I do believe, =warning= this is MY opinion, that Lions kill a lot of Deer. in Utah Mule Deer are what I would call, their preferred meal.
I no longer hunt with hounds, Not for many years. I never saw a Mt. Lion in my youth if my Hounds weren't pursuing it, or had it caught. 3 Times over the last 15 years I have called in Lions whille hunting Elk,and calling. I have seen 2 Lions while driving in my truck in about the same time period, the first in Panorama Woods in Sanpete county. the other ran across the hwy 6 on Billies Mtn. There was also a different Mt. Lion killed by a car a couple miles down the canyon from there last year. and then I saw 2 different Lions on Dutton last year while Elk Hunting.
Are there too many lions, you decide,IDK. But there sure as heII doesn't seem to be a shortage.

Thanks for posting the study 2lumpy, I've perused it a few times over the years. There are many more that are very similar in nature and subject and given the total body of work in that respect have assisted state game agencies in developing cougar population levels accordingly. Here are a couple more that are similar:

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2838&context=icwdm_usdanwrc

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01686.x/full


http://sefs.washington.edu/research.acl/Urban_Ecology/kertson_marzluff1.pdf


There are dozens and dozens of studies on cougars, from population dynamics to total biomass requirements from daily to annual basis's. Most seem to agree with each other, but sometimes they don't, and the scientists are surprised by some of the results.

Strictly speaking to how many deer a cougar eats per week, it can vary from .5 to as high as two or more, depending. Cougars are extremely difficult to study given their elusive nature, but more and more, biologists are coming to a better understanding. It simply isn't cut and dry, but has wide variances in many facets of study. In my opinion, as humble as it may be, the majority of hunters and non hunters who talk about cougar dynamics speak not with empirical knowledge, but with anecdotal experience, and the difference is telling.

Predator/prey relationships is a fascinating study, but one that requires a lot of time to gain a bit more than a basic understanding, but well worth it.

Do cougars kill a lot of deer? You bet they do. They also kill a lot of elk, bighorn sheep, livestock, and smaller critters. Can a cougar population suppress or stagnate a mule deer population? Yep, but it is extremely rare. Here is an example:

https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/Popular/mtnlions.html

I would suggest taking the time to understand how it all fits together, at least to the point that current science understands it all, rather than from anecdotal stories and emotional beliefs.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-19-17 AT 01:30PM (MST)[p]
> I would suggest taking
>the time to understand how
>it all fits together, at
>least to the point that
>current science understands it all,
>rather than from anecdotal stories
>and emotional beliefs.

Good luck with that, Perry!