IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Beausoleil, R.A.; Dawn, D.; Martorello, D.A.; Morgan, C.P. | |
| Cougar management protocols: a survey of Wildlife Agencies in North America | |
| 2008 Conference Proceeding | |
Wildlife agencies face a formidable task when managing cougar (_Puma concolor_). Unlike many other large mammalian species, long-term research studies investigating the ecology and natural history of cougars are relatively limited and a reliable, affordable method for enumerating cougar populations has not been reported in the literature. Throughout their range, the legal status of cougars varies greatly including: federally listed as endangered (FL, USA); specially protected mammal (CA, USA); protected game species (most western jurisdictions, USA and Canada) and unprotected (TX, USA and MX). Many wildlife agencies in the West also manage cougar populations to help meet management objectives of other species (e.g., bighorn sheep (_Ovis_ spp.), mule deer (_Odocoileus hemionus_), and elk (_Cervus elaphus_). These challenges are further complicated by the highly social-political charge of cougar issues. Confounding all of these biological, social, and political issues is the lack of adequate funding to meet these challenges. With increasing human populations and diminishing habitats, the amalgamation of managing these factors will become more imperative in the future. For these reasons, it is critical that researchers and managers regularly communicate cougar management successes and limitations in an effort to help refine and enhance cougar management protocols across the species' range. The objective of our survey was to compare cougar management protocols throughout North America so agencies could benefit from the experiences of other jurisdictions and more readily update their own management protocols. Our information builds on prior survey/questionnaire work (Anonymous 1984, Green 1991, Tully 1991, Dawn 2002). |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |