Mountain Lions

For the past 17 years, researchers have been tracking mountain lions, also called pumas, north of Jackson Hole. When they started the research, the population was around 20 to 25 adults, but now it's down to about 10 adults. 

Researchers recently discovered that plague is much more prevalent in the Grand Teton area than previously thought. 

A new study conducted by a global wild cat conservation organization finds that a mountain lions' prey differs by age.

We're used to thinking of beavers as ecological engineers, but a new study shows that mountain lions may modify their environments in a similar way.

Mountain lion hunting season started September 1 but a new study by the wildlife conservation group, Panthera, shows that fewer mountain lion mothers and kittens would die if the hunting was moved back to December 1 instead. 

Wildlife management policies have contributed to a steep decline of mountain lions in northwest Wyoming, according to a new report published last week in the journal “Ecology and Evolution,” which found that population numbers have dropped by almost 50-percent in only 16 years.

A new study of mountain lions shows they’re much more social than previously thought, with networks of felines sharing resources in territories overseen by a dominant male.

Panthera’s Puma Project biologist Mark Elbroch is a lead author of the article, published last week in the journal Science Advances. The study uses GPS technology and motion-sensor cameras to look at cougars in western Wyoming. 

Next week, legislators will debate whether or not to add mountain lions to the list of animals that can be legally trapped in the state. Newcastle Representative Hans Hunt is one of the bill’s sponsors. He says sportsmen and ranchers complain that mountain lions are hurting mule deer populations.

“The incidence of predator kills on deer populations in certain parts of the state has to be evidence enough that their population is certainly increasing and at a rate that’s cause for concern,” Hunt says.

A researcher studying the social behaviors of mountain lions will present his findings on Thursday, June 18, in the first of a series of summer talks co-sponsored by the University of Wyoming and the National Parks.

Mark Elbroch is a wildlife biologist with Panthera, a conservation group studying big cats and their habitats. He says new technology like GPS collars and remote video cameras have given him unprecedented access to the lives of mountain lions.