Mountain Lions In Nebraska

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MountainLionsin NebraskaOutdoorNebraska.orgMountain Lions in Nebraska Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 3

When deliveringpresentations aboutmountain lions,the Nebraska Game and ParksCommission’s Sam Wilsonbegins by saying he has a fourpronged explanation about howthe state’s most controversial catSAM WILSONarrived in the state in the 1990s.Then, laughs ensue when he shows a photo of amountain lion with arrows pointing to each of itsfour feet.Beyond the humor, Wilson discusses the sciencebehind the Commission’s efforts to manage thisspecies. It’s an area where he has much experience.Wilson has fulfilled the role of furbearer andcarnivore specialist at Game and Parks for morethan a decade. During that time, he has workedextensively with Nebraska’s mountain lionpopulation, heading up innovative populationstudies, verifying sightings and educating the publicabout the species. He’s participated in conferencesand workshops on mountain lion science andmanagement across the western and midwesternUnited States, and he’s worked with biologistsfrom neighboring states to better manage regionallion populations.A lifelong hunter and outdoorsman, Wilsonreceived his bachelor’s degree from the Universityof Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied fisheries andwildlife. He received his Masters of Science throughthe University of Nebraska while working withscientists from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish andWildlife Research Unit.Wilson recently answered some commonlyasked questions about this elusive and at timescontroversial carnivore.Q:How did mountain lions return toNebraska?Mountain lions returned through natural expansion frompopulations in Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming.Mountain lions are native to Nebraska but were eliminatedfrom the state by the end of the 1800s. Populations inneighboring mountain states increased as prey speciesrecovered, bounties for killing mountain lions ended andstates started managing mountain lions as game animalsduring the 1960s-1970s. Management as game animalswith limited harvest allowed mountain lion populationsto increase and expand out to nearby habitat in Nebraska,South Dakota and North Dakota. In Nebraska, the firstmodern mountain lion confirmations occurred in 1991, whentracks were found and a female was shot in the Pine Ridge.In 1995, the Nebraska Legislature classified mountain lionsas a game animal, which means the species can only behunted under rules prescribed by the Commission. Yearround protection under game law allowed the recolonizationof suitable habitat in Nebraska over the past two decades.Q:WWhatis the Commission’s goal in managingmountain lions?mThe Commission’s goal is to maintain mountain lionpopulations in Nebraska over the long term as we dowith all game animals. Mountain lions are a nativespecies and part of the heritage of our state, so we wantto ensure they are around for generations to come;however, our challenge is to manage the biological andsocial aspects of having mountain lions in Nebraska. Wemanage populations of game animals such as mountainlions through harvest seasons. Deer, elk and turkeys arejust a few examples of game animals thriving with carefulmanagement that includes hunting. Game populationsare evaluated annually to determine what, if any, harvestshould be allowed. The basic premise is that whenpopulations increase, harvest levels can increase, andwhen populations decrease, harvest can be reduced orstopped. This careful management is what has allowedmany of these game species to be so successful over thelong term.Q:Where are mountain lions found?WNebraska is on the eastern edge of a population ofthousands of mountain lions that stretches from the northernplains to the Pacific Ocean.In Nebraska there are breeding populations in three areas:the Pine Ridge, Niobrara River Valley and Wildcat Hills,and we typically have a few mountain lions roaming otherparts of the state as well. Young male mountain lions havebeen found dispersing throughout Nebraska and beyond.Females typically disperse much shorter distances andare the key to establishing new populations. This is whymountain lion populations first formed in the Pine Ridge,2 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Mountain Lions in Nebraska

Nebraska’s Mountain Lion ResearchOMountain Lions in Nebraska Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 3PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAGne of the fundamental questions in managingresearch is primarily conducted in the Pine Ridge but willa species is “How many are there?” Given thatinclude mountain lions anywhere they can be captured.wild animals often try hard not to be seen orThese collars have already allowed Commission biologistsheard, wildlife scientists have spent decadesto ear-tag litters of kittens born to collared females indeveloping survey methods that yield reliable results.both the Wildcat Hills and Pine Ridge.The key to these state-of-the-art methods is to count theTrail camera surveys are being used to documentanimals that are seen or heard and, using mathematicalexpansion or contraction of newly formed populationsprinciples, also estimate those that were not detected.in the Wildcat Hills and Niobrara River Valley. TheseThese sophisticated approachesare particularly needed toaccurately count species suchas mountain lions that arenotoriously wide-ranging andelusive.In order to answer thisquestion and others, theCommission has begun a multiyear research project utilizingthree state-of-the-art techniques:genetic surveys, collaring withglobal positioning system(GPS) collars, and trail camerasurveys. These three techniqueswill work together to provideinformation regarding populationsize, impacts on big game preyspecies, and expansion orcontraction of mountain lionpopulations in Nebraska.Genetic surveys utilizing a scatdetector dog and subsequentDNA analysis have been theprimary tool for estimatingthe size of mountain lionpopulations in Nebraska.Commission biologists haveconducted such surveys in thePine Ridge of northwesternNebraska every year or twosince 2010. More recently, theCommission also conductedgenetic surveys in the WildcatHills and Niobrara River Valley;however, these newly formedpopulations did not provideCommission biologist place a GPS collar on a female mountain lion in the Pine Ridge.enough data to run populationFrom left: Todd Nordeen, Mallory Irvine, Dr. Regina Rankin and Greg Schenbeck.models used for the larger andmore established Pine Ridgepopulation.surveys are conducted by systematically placing motionIn a typical survey of the Pine Ridge, biologists searchsensitive cameras in a grid pattern across a patch of200 to 300 miles of suitable habitat and collect a fewsuitable habitat. Biologists document the locations andhundred scat samples. Surveys conducted between 2010frequency of mountain lion photographs to gain insightand 2015 indicate that the population in the Pine Ridgeinto expansion or contraction of their populations.has been relatively stable, with estimates ranging fromTrail camera surveys are also useful for documenting22 to 33 total animals. Births, deaths and movements ofreproduction in newly recolonized areas via pictures ofanimals in and out of the region undoubtedly result in afemales with kittens. Commission biologists used traildifferent mix of individuals between the years.cameras to obtain the first photograph of a female withIn 2015, the Commission began fitting mountain lionskittens in the Wildcat Hills during 2014.with GPS collars. These collars are useful in determiningAs with all wildlife, mountain lion populations aremountain lions’ impact on high-profile prey species suchnever static from one year to the next. The Commissionas bighorn sheep, elk and mule deer. The GPS collarswill continue to use the best available science to managealso provide information on population size, home range,this challenging species. habitat use and movements. The collaring portion of the

Recent Expansion of Mountain Lionsin the MidwestMAP DATA PROVIDED BY THE COUGAR NETWORK – COUGARNET.ORGEstablished breeding rangeArea with confirmedpresence of dispersingmountain lions (1990 –present)Dispersing mountain lions from established breeding range in mountain states have been documented throughout much of theMidwest since the early 1990s. The majority of these long-distance dispersers are young males looking for new territory, althoughfemales have also dispersed and formed populations in the northern plains states.Urban AreasPublic safety isthe first concernwhenever a mountainlion – or any largewild animal –wanders into atown or city. Since2004, the NebraskaGame and ParksCommission policy has been to kill mountain lionsthat are found within municipalities. Several factorsweighed into this decision. Unlike mountain statesto the west, Nebraska has no large areas of publicland where a mountain lion could be released andnot be expected to quickly move off the area ontoprivate property. Over the years, Game and Parksbiologists have repeatedly tried to find a zoo orother licensed facility willing to take mountain lions,but these efforts have been unsuccessful. Withouta suitable area to release them or facility to placea captured mountain lion, lethal removal is theappropriate response. which is close to a large source of dispersing femalesfrom the Black Hills. The farther you get from establishedpopulations, the fewer female dispersers you’re likely toget, so we would expect females to reach the Niobrarapopulation or the eastern part of the state less often.Q:AApproximatelyhow many mountain lionsare there in Nebraska?aGenetic surveys conducted between 2010 and 2015indicate that the population in the Pine Ridge has beenrelatively stable, with estimates ranging from 22 to33 total animals. In addition to the population in thePine Ridge, there are also resident populations in theNiobrara Valley and Wildcat Hills; however, due totheir recent establishment in these areas, there are noestimates for these populations at this time. A few moreanimals typically wander elsewhere in the state as well.It is important to consider that populations of animalsare always changing. Populations grow with each newbirth and they decline with every death. There are someanimals that leave populations and some that come infrom other areas. It wouldn’t be very accurate only tosubtract animals that have died without also accountingfor additions through births and immigration.4 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Mountain Lions in Nebraska

ConnectivityBetweenPopulationsPine RidgeNiobrara River ValleyWildcat HillsEstablished breedingrangeKnown or suspected movementbetween populationsMountain lions have established reproducing populations in three areas of Nebraska – the Pine Ridge, the Wildcat Hills andthe Niobrara River Valley. Young lions likely moved into these areas from nearby established populations in the Black Hills andWyoming.The further away you get from the time of a survey,the more likely it is that the population has changed frombirths, deaths, immigration and/or emigration.Q:HHowdoes the Commission decide if theresshould be a hunting season?When the Nebraska Legislature classified the mountainlion as a game animal in 1995, it signaled to theCommission that hunting of the species should be allowedif the population was large enough to sustain a harvest.This is the same criteria we use for any other specieson the state’s game animal list, from deer to bobcats topheasants. State statute also identifies Game and Parks asthe appropriate agency to set hunting seasons.We understood that any decision we made aboutmountain lion hunting would be controversial, and wesought to find a reasonable middle ground to protect thespecies’ long-term persistence in the state while allowingsome appropriate level of hunting opportunity along theway.To find this middle ground, we looked at a number ofpublished studies about how populations have respondedto different levels of harvest in western states wheremountain lion hunting has been permitted for years. Wealso looked at data from South Dakota about harvest rates,birth rates and death rates, which was particularly helpful,as we know that populations in the Black Hills are wellconnected to those in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge by immigratingindividuals. This, coupled with population estimates from ourPine Ridge genetic surveys (see sidebar, page 3) and otherdata we collected gave us enough information to make a solid,science-based recommendation.That said, we also took public input into account, and in theend decided to maintain lion populations where they occurredin Nebraska, while slightly reducing their numbers.The inaugural season, held in 2014, was set for just oneyear so that we could adjust future regulations as necessary. Inresponse to an unusual number of non-hunting mortalities thatoccurred in 2014, the decision was made to not hold a seasonduring 2015 or 2016. Decisions regarding whether to holdhunting seasons in the future will be made on an annual basisusing a similar balance of population data and managementobjectives.Q:HHowdoes the Commission use moneyffrom the sale of mountain lion huntingpermits?pAll money received from the sale of mountain lion huntingpermits has been invested right back into research andmanagement of mountain lions. This funds a portion of ourmountain lion research as well as other work we do whilemanaging mountain lions.Mountain Lions in Nebraska Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 5MAP DATA PROVIDED BY THE COUGAR NETWORK – COUGARNET.ORG AND THE NEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS COMMISSIONBlack Hills

EncountersDue to their secretivenature and low density,mountain lions rarelyinteract with people.Mountain lions typicallyhide or flee when a personis encountered. In therare case that you encounter a mountain lion and itdoes not flee, the following tips may help you avertdanger:1. Do not approach a mountain lion.2. Leave the animal an avenue of escape.3. Stay calm, move slowly.4. Back away to safety if you can. Do not turn yourback or run.5. Raise your arms and anything you are carryingto try to appear larger.6. If children are present, lift them up to preventthem from running.7. If you are being attacked, fight back. Mountainlions have been successfully fended off withbare hands. Use rocks, sticks or any weaponsyou can find. Try to remain on your feet and getback up if knocked down. People and LivestockThe CThCommissioni iworkedk d withith ththe llegislaturei l tto create common-sense laws that allow forprotection of people and livestock. These lawsallow people to defend themselves or others inthe rare case that a mountain lion stalks, attacksor shows unprovoked aggression. Farmers andranchers may also kill mountain lions that arein the process of stalking, killing or consuminglivestock on their property. If mountain lionsare killed under these circumstances they mustimmediately notify the Commission and turnover the carcass. If farmers or ranchers find alivestock carcass and suspect depredation bya mountain lion they should leave the carcassintact and immediately call the Commission. Track ComparisonsQ:WWhatis the Commission doing to learnmore about mountain lions in Nebraska?mMountain lion populations have returned to Nebraska, andthe Game and Parks Commission is committed to learningall we can about this high-profile species. This includescontinuing investigations into observations of mountain lionpresence by the public – which we have been documentingfor more than 20 years. Trail camera photos submitted bythe public have been particularly important in helping usdocument expanding populations in recent years, so we wantto encourage people to contact the Commission if they get aphoto of a mountain lion on their trailcams.We recently initiated a large scale, multi-year researchproject aimed at determining population sizes, changes indistribution, movements, habitat use, and impacts on biggame prey species. The majority of this information willbe determined through capturing mountain lions and fittingthem with global positioning system (GPS) collars. We willcontinue to estimate population sizes using genetic surveys,which we have been conducting since 2010. The thirdpart of the newly planned research is to use systematicallyplaced trail cameras to document expansion or contractionof populations in areas such as the Niobrara River Valleyand Wildcat Hills. This research will take place overseveral years and will allow new insights into this otherwisesecretive species.The Commission is also working on a more geographicallycomprehensive approach for mountain lion management. AsI mentioned, mountain lions move freely between Nebraskaand neighboring western states, so we have worked closelywith biologists from South Dakota and Wyoming to shareinformation regarding mountain lion management andresearch. We will continue to work closely with biologistsfrom those areas to make sure our management decisions fitwithin what is happening in the larger region.MountainLionCoyoteMountaint i lilion ffrontt ttracksk are 3 tto 44-1/4 inches long and3-1/4 to 4-3/4 inches wide. Claws usually do not registerbecause they are retracted. Claw marks are usually (but notalways) visible in coyote and dog tracks. The heel pad incat tracks has two lobes in the front and three lobes inthe back, while dog and coyote tracks show only one lobein the front and two lobes in the back. The tracks from asmall mountain lion and a large bobcat can be difficult todistinguish. In cats the toes are almost evenly spaced from theheel pad, while in dogs and coyotes, the separation from themiddle two is greater.6 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Mountain Lions in NebraskaBobcatDomesticDog

Cougar LifeBy Justin HaagFMountain Lions in Nebraska Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 7PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAGew animals spark debate like Pumaconcolor. People can’t even agreeon what to call it – monikers includecougar, mountain lion, puma andcatamount. Most experts, includingNebraska Game and Parks furbearerand carnivore program managerSam Wilson, agree on some basicattributes. Here’s what the evidenceshows on some widely discussedand often misunderstood topicsconcerning cougar behavior.Cougars spend most of the dayconserving energy at rest but bynature are wanderers, movingnocturnally and traveling mostfrequently at dusk and dawn. Whilefemales with kittens usually staywithin a few miles of their young,other adults – especially males –have been known to relocate at adistance of 20 miles in one night.Home ranges vary from as little as 21square miles among females to 350square miles or more with males. InJuly 2011, officials confirmed that amountain lion killed by automobile inConnecticut had trekked more than1,500 miles from the Black Hills ofSouth Dakota.While most cougar litters are bornin late spring or summer, a femaleA female cougar, which had previously been equipped with a radio collar and ear tagscougar can go into estrus at any timeby Commission wildlife biologists, walks along a fallen tree. The photo was taken withof year and therefore will mate anda camera trap near the Nebraska National Forest south of Chadron.give birth during any month. Cougarsporcupine. The amount of prey they kill varies. Researchare least likely to have dependentwith GPS tracking technology has shown that each femaleyoung during winter and early spring according toresearch from South Dakota. Litters, which usually consist cougar without kittens require a deer or the equivalentevery 16 days. A female cougar with three 15-month-oldof 2-3 kittens, are born after a three-month gestationkittens may require a deer every three days. The standardperiod. The kittens disperse between 1½ to 2 years ofestimate is about a deer (or deer-sized meal) a week perage. The dispersing “transients,” as they’re known, areadult mountain lion. Cougars’ effect on an ungulate herd,the most likely cougars to have encounters with humans.such as deer, is largely determined by the overall healthThese young cats are notorious for stumbling into dangerof the potential prey’s population and the availability ofand are frequently killed by resident adult males of theiralternate prey.own species in territorial quarrels.Cougars are highly efficient predators and have becomeCougar populations are always in flux with births andfeared by many humans. Cougars present a very smalldeaths and lions moving into or out of a region. Thethreat to humans – smaller than most realize. Therepopulation in the Pine Ridge and other parts of Nebraskahave been three human mortalities in North America asis on the eastern edges of a greater mountain liona result of interactions with mountain lions since 2000,population (of tens of thousands of animals) stretchingfewer deaths than from any of the following causes: dogfrom the northern Plains states of Nebraska, Southattacks, snakes bites, lightning strikes and bee stings.Dakota and North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean. At anyResearch has shown that cougars predominantly seekgiven time, there are several hundred lions in Wyomingprey chosen from learned behavior and avoid others. and South Dakota that are within a normal dispersaldistance of Nebraska’s populations.Sources: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission;Cougars are considered to be hypercarnivores. WhileBehavior of North American Mammals, a Petersonthey will eat grass as a means to rid parasites and hairReference Guide, authored by Mark Elbroch and Kurtfrom their digestive tracts, they most frequently feedRinehart; and Managing Cougars in North America,on animals, especially deer. They also eat elk, bighornedited by Jonathan Jenks.sheep and numerous smaller animals, a favorite being

Mountain lion photographed byRobin Poluch along the Dismal Riverin Nebraska in 2009.OutdoorNebraska.org2 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Mountain Lions in NebraskaPublished by theNebraska Game and Parks CommissionRevised 12-2016 TR

of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied fisheries and wildlife. He received his Masters of Science through the University of Nebraska while working with scientists from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Wilson recently answered some commonly asked questions about this elusive and at times controversial carnivore. SAM WILSON Q:

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