We are conducting surveys, monitoring, and research on cougars (puma, mountain lion) on the Ladder Ranch in south-central New Mexico. Here, cougars are of particular interest given their effects on state-endangered desert bighorn sheep and other valuable big game. These projects are also resources for training and education, most notably through the Cougar Field Workshop.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The map above show's LF1's movements over the last two weeks. There are three clusters of points that may indicate prey caches. She is currently still at the most recent cluster. The straight lines connecting the points don't actually show her travel route, but they do help to illustrate the general direction she has moved in. Most notably, she has returned to the farm fields after several months away. We predicted that she may return to this area in winter, as prey density increases dramatically around the fields at this time of year. It will be interesting to see how long she stays in this area.

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