IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Bleich, V.C.; Pierce, B.M.; Davis, J.L.; Davis, V.L. | |
| Thermal characteristics of mountain lion dens | |
| 1996 Great Basin Naturalist (56): 276-278 | |
We used radiotelemetry and searched with a trained hound to locate the dens of 3 recently parturient mountain lions (_Felis concolor_). These dens were located in dense riparian vegetation along the same stream in the bottom of a steep canyon. We monitored the circadian temperatures of 2 dens at 1-h intervals and compared them to ambient temperatures recorded simultaneously. We found mountain lion dens to effectively moderate high ambient temperatures, but these dens failed to provide a thermal advantage at the lowest ambient temperatures recorded in this investigation. We conclude that mountain lion dens provide effective protection from thermal maxima for young, immobile kittens. |
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