Mountain Lion
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A MOUNTAIN LION
The mountain lion, also known as cougar or puma (Puma concolor), is the fourth largest wild cat in the world, surpassed only by the tiger, lion, and jaguar. These magnificent animals can run at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and jump up to 18 feet in a single bound, making them one of the fastest and most agile land animals in North America. In the Ojai Valley, they are a keystone species, playing a critical role in regulating prey populations and shaping the landscape.
Although mountain lions have a fearsome reputation, they typically avoid confrontations with humans, and attacks on humans are rare. In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. They are carnivorous and primarily feed on deer, but they have been known to prey on smaller animals such as rabbits, rodents, and pets—as recent events in the valley have shown.
As human and mountain lion interaction increases in the valley, we provide the following tips to prepare you in the unlikely event that you come face-to-face with these felines:
When walking or hiking in mountain lion territory, it’s best to travel in groups and make plenty of noise to avoid startling a lion.
Keep children close and in your sight at all times. Keep your dog on a leash.
Avoid approaching a lion, especially one that is feeding or has kittens. Most lions will avoid confrontation, so give them an escape route.
If you come upon a lion, stay calm and talk calmly but firmly to it. Back away slowly if you can do so safely. Running may provoke a lion’s instinct to chase and attack, so face the lion and stand upright.
Try to appear larger by raising your arms or opening your jacket if you have one. If you have small children with you, protect them by picking them up so they won’t panic and run away. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly to convince the lion that you are not prey and may be a threat to it.
Make noise by carrying an air horn or other loud device to startle and scare off the lion.
If the lion behaves aggressively, throw stones, branches, or any objects you can find without crouching or turning your back. Do not throw anything at the lion’s head as this can injure it and make the situation worse.
If the lion attacks you, fight back with whatever you have at your disposal. A sturdy walking stick is also useful for fending off a lion. People have successfully fought back with rocks, sticks, jackets, and even bare hands. Remain standing or try to get back up if possible.
When using an OVLC preserve, keep in mind that you are hiking in the mountain lion’s home, and these cats are an essential keystone species in our local ecosystem. Mountain lions are known to roam in urban areas, particularly near the wildland-urban interface, where human development meets undeveloped wildland. We must remember that we share our environment with these animals, and this is why we experience mountain lion activity in town. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to development, as well as weather patterns indicative of climate change, likely contribute to the increase in activity.
Physical Characteristics
Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are slender and agile members of the cat family. They are the 4th largest cat; adults stand about 24 to 35 in (60 to 90 cm) tall at the shoulders. Adult males are around 7.9 ft (2.4 m) long nose to tail and females average 6.7 ft (2.05 m), with overall ranges between 4.0 to 9.0 ft (1.5 to 2.75 m) nose to tail suggested for the species in general. Of this length, 25 to 37 in (63 to 95 cm) is comprised by the tail. Males typically weigh 115 to 220 lb (53 to 100 kg), averaging 137 lb (62 kg). Females typically weigh between 64 and 141 lb (29 and 64 kg), averaging 93 lb (42 kg).
The head of the cat is round and the ears are erect. Its powerful forequarters, neck, and jaw serve to grasp and hold large prey. It has 5 retractable claws on its forepaws ( one a dewclaw) and four on its hind paws. The larger front feet and claws are adaptations to clutching prey.
Despite its size, it is not typically classified among the “big cats”, as it cannot roar, lacking the specialized larynx and hyoid apparatus of Panthera. Compared to “big cats”, cougars are often silent with minimal communication through vocalizations outside of the mother-offspring relationship. Cougars sometimes voice low-pitched hisses, growls, and purrs, as well as chirps and whistles, many of which are comparable to those of domestic cats. They are well known for their screams, as referenced in these screams are often misinterpreted to be calls of other animals.
Cougar coloring is plain (hence the Latin concolor) but can vary greatly between individuals and even between siblings. The coat is typically tawny, but ranges to silvery-grey or reddish, with lighter patches on the underbody, including the jaws, chin, and throat. Infants are spotted and born with blue eyes and rings on their tails; juveniles are pale, and dark spots remain on their flanks.
Cougars have large paws and proportionally the largest hind legs in the cat family. This physique allows it great leaping and short-sprint ability. The cougar is able to leap as high as 18 ft (5.5 m) in one bound, and as far as 40 to 45 ft horizontally.The cougar's top running speed ranges between 40 to 50 mph (64 to 80 km/h), but is best adapted for short, powerful sprints rather than long chases. It is adept at climbing, which allows it to evade canine competitors. Although it is not strongly associated with water, it can swim.
Habitat
The cougar can adapt to virtually every habitat type; it is found in all forest types, as well as in lowland and mountainous deserts. The cougar prefers regions with dense underbrush, but can live with little vegetation in open areas. Its preferred habitats include precipitous canyons, escarpments, rim rocks, and dense brush.
Diet
A successful generalist predator, the cougar will eat any animal it can catch, from insects to large ungulates (“hoofed animal”). Like all cats, it is an obligate carnivore, meaning it needs to feed exclusively on meat to survive. In this area cougars eat mule deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels and mice.
Though capable of sprinting, the cougar is typically an ambush predator. It stalks through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of its prey and a suffocating neck bite. The cougar is capable of breaking the neck of some of its smaller prey with a strong bite and momentum bearing the animal to the ground.
Kills are generally estimated at around one large ungulate every two weeks. The period shrinks for females raising young, and may be as short as one kill every three days when cubs are nearly mature at around 15 months. The cat drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it with brush, and returns to feed over a period of days. It is generally reported that the cougar is not a scavenger, and will rarely consume prey it has not killed; but deer carcasses left exposed for study were scavenged by cougars in California, suggesting more opportunistic behavior.
Behavior
Like almost all cats, the cougar is a solitary animal. Only mothers and kittens live in groups, with adults meeting only to mate. It is secretive and crepuscular, being most active around dawn and dusk.
Home range sizes and overall cougar abundance depend on terrain, vegetation, and prey abundance. One female adjacent to the San Andres Mountains, for instance, was found with a large range of 83 sq mi (215 km), necessitated by poor prey abundance. Research has shown cougar abundances from 0.5 animals to as much as 7 (in one study in South America) per 38 sq mi (100 km).
Because males disperse farther than females and compete more directly for mates and territory, they are most likely to be involved in conflict. Where a subadult fails to leave his maternal range, for example, he may be killed by his father. When males encounter each other, they hiss, spit, and may engage in violent conflict if neither backs down. Hunting or relocation of the cougar may increase aggressive encounters by disrupting territories and bringing young, transient animals into conflict with established individuals.
Breeding
Females reach sexual maturity between one-and-a-half to three years of age. They typically average one litter every two to three years throughout their reproductive lives, though the period can be as short as one year. Females are in estrus for about 8 days of a 23-day cycle; the gestation period is approximately 91 days. Females are sometimes reported as monogamous, but this is uncertain and polygyny may be more common. Copulation is brief but frequent. Chronic stress can result in low reproductive rates when in captivity in addition to in the field.
Only females are involved in parenting. Female cougars are fiercely protective of their cubs, and have been seen to successfully fight off animals as large as American black bears in their defense. Litter size is between one and six cubs; typically two or three. Caves and other alcoves that offer protection are used as litter dens. Born blind, cubs are completely dependent on their mother at first, and begin to be weaned at around three months of age. As they grow, they begin to go out on forays with their mother, first visiting kill sites, and after six months beginning to hunt small prey on their own. Kitten survival rates are just over one per litter. When cougars are born, they have spots, but they lose them as they grow, and by the age of 2 1/2 years, they will completely be gone.
Young adults leave their mother to attempt to establish their own territory at around two years of age and sometimes earlier; males tend to leave sooner. One study has shown high mortality amongst cougars that travel farthest from the maternal range, often due to conflicts with other cougars.
Life expectancy in the wild is reported at 8 to 13 years, and probably averages 8 to 10.
Predators
Aside from humans, no species preys upon mature cougars in the wild, although conflicts with other predators or scavengers occur.
References
Cougar, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
www.bigsurcalifornia.org/cougar.html
If people have a concern about a mountain lion, they are advised to call the California Fish and Wildlife South Coast Region office at 858-467-4201 or 858-467-4257.
They are also advised to fill out an incident form online at: https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir/incident/create.