Mountain Lion and Bobcat Project
The Wildlife Health Center has been working on mountain lions in Southern California since 2001. Since that time our focus has been
- Prey animals, particularly bighorn sheep and deer
- Health and disease
- Human interactions, attitudes and behaviors
- Habitat use (fragmentation and corridors in particular)
We have placed GPS collars (and one VHS) on 57 lions to date. Since 2008 we have entered Phase 2 of the project, having captured 19 lions and 12 bobcats and collared them. The collars allow us to track the movements and behavior of the felines in order to document their habitat use. They also help us determine likely sites to be able to trap them. Using cage traps with roadkilled deer for bait, we sedate the cats, take blood, DNA and feces samples to determine health, check or apply collars.
The project has had great success trapping lions with cage traps, a process which is far less likely to result in injury to lions than either snares or dogs, which continue to be the more prevalent capture methods.
Update, January 2012
Since January 2011, 6 cougars were captured, sampled, and GPS-collared a total of 8 times. Four of these animals were new entrants to the study in 2011 (M67, F85, M86, and M87). Two animals, F62 and M64, had originally entered the study in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and they were recaptured for battery or GPS collar changes and re-sampled for disease exposure. Our areas of focus for 2012 can be found here.
Update, Week of March 23, 2011
WHC Vet Winston Vickers recaptured male mountain lion M64 and attempted to capture a female and her one-year-old kitten. Vickers re-programmed M64’s collar in order to track his road crossing behavior in the Santa Ana mountains. Numerous mountain lions have been killed by cars in the western Santa Anas, and information from M64 will help guide improvements in road crossing and fencing in order to reduce wildlife mortality. In San Diego County, the mother and kitten were not interested in the traps, possibly because of having had a meal of their own elsewhere.
