Furman cougar

2011-06-04T06:13:00.009-06:00

Team Puma 2011 is back on the Ladder Ranch and has hit the ground running! On May 31st we checked all 25 grid cameras by running 2 separate camera teams. As always we captured some interesting stuff, below are some of the most interesting photos from this latest camera check:

A bobcat (Lynx rufus) checks out the camera. Our subjects rarely smile or even look at the cameras for their photos, so this is a rare capture of this bobcat almost saying "cheese".

This male black bear (Ursus americanus) took a break in front of one of our cameras to scratch his back.

Our first photo capturing puma predation shows LF8 with a skunk. The kills we've checked out for her over the winter and spring indicate that she might be specializing on skunks. She has certainly killed more skunks than we have found with our other pumas.

Since first detecting him in December of last year, LM1 has remained a nearly constant present in our camera array. We've been able to pick out his red ear tag in most of his photos and hope to recapture him sometime this summer or fall and fit him with another GPS collar.

This photo is probably capturing a mating event between LM3 and an unknown female. In the photo we can see LM3's ear tag, but cannot make out an ear tag on the accompanying female in the background (look close!). It is possible that she could be LF6 or her daughter LF7, both of whom have ear tags, but no GPS collar at this point. Again, we hope to recapture LM3 and replace his malfunctioning GPS collar, and we are also hoping to recapture LF6 and/or LF7 to fit them with GPS collars.

2010-12-06T20:19:00.008-07:00

LM1 is Back!!! - The above photo shows the first evidence of LM1 in the study area since the summer of 2009. LM1 was the first male collared for the project by Harley Shaw and Orville Fletcher in March 2008. He was re-collared in April 2009 by Matthew McCollister. Unfortunately his collar fell off unexpectedly in May of 2009 and since then the last evidence we had of him was a photo taken by the camera array after his collar had already fallen off, but he was still ear- tagged (below).

So far we've picked up 3 separate photos of LM1 at 2 different camera locations all along the Animas Creek drainage since he has revisited the study area. The two below photos are taken of his RIGHT side, so it is difficult to detect his unique red ear tag in his LEFT ear, but if you zoom into the photos you can barely see a hint of red color on his far ear. If LM1 remains in the study area we will hopefully continue to capture him with cameras, and if we're lucky maybe he'll stick around to be recaptured during our next collaring efforts.

2010-06-30T22:17:00.015-06:00

LM3 Recaptured! - On June 20th Team Puma recaptured the prodigal LM3 and was able to exchange his non-functioning GPS collar for a brand new Northstar GPS collar, courtesy of Mike Abernathy and Carolyn Galceran donated to the project in memory of Owen and Milda Abernathy. The above photo features all of this years Ladder Ranch Team Puma Recruits, from the left: Furman sophomore MC Coppage, freshman Alex Viere, professor Dr. Travis Perry (also Furman alumnus), alumnus Megan Pitman (getting her masters from Clemson on this project), and sophomore Michael Jiang.

The above photo shows LM3 once he has been darted by Megan Pitman with a CO2 powered tranquilization "gun". About 3 minutes after being darted he surrendered to the effects of the the tranquilization drugs and appears to be asleep.

LM3's peleage showed evidence of recent fighting, most likely an encounter with another male puma in the area. Other than these scars, he appeared in fine condition, weighing in at 138 lbs., and handled the capture procedure very well. Based on his GPS movements, he was most likely on a kill only 2 nights after being captured!

Furman undergraduates had the opportunity to help collect valuable measurement data on LM3. The data collection process ran very smoothly, although rapidly, as once the animal is tractable under tranquilization we have only about 30-45 minutes to take the necessary measurements, photos, and fit the GPS collar.

LM3's canine's measured in at 30 mm for the upper and 24 mm for the lower. Detailed photos were also taken of his teeth for the purpose of aging him based on the wear and discoloration of the teeth.

After all of the data was collected and his new GPS collar was fitted, LM3 was monitored closely to ensure his health and safety while coming out of the tranquilization.

2010-05-28T18:36:00.013-06:00

Hidden Dangers of "Cougar Scene Investigation" aka "C.S.I.": While visiting kill sites and random points all over the ranch Team Puma has encountered quite a diversity of species so far this sumer, some more friendly than others. The above photos shows Furman Junior Michael Jiang "taming" one of the many local herps, a lively Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister). This guy was caught while displaying for a female at a recent LM2 Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) kill. The below photos are from this kill and show the little evidence left after the puma and scavengers were finished with it.

Catching herps is a favorite pastime of the 2010 Team Puma recruits. Below Furman Junior M.C. Coppage poses with a charismatic Round Tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) . Showing her true talent as our resident "Lizard Whisperer" M.C. is also featured hypnotizing a brightly colored male Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister) caught just outside of our bunkhouse on the ranch.

While collecting Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Elk (Cervus elaphus) pellets for measuring decomposition rates and estimating population sizes on the ranch we've found ourselves in close proximity to some of the resident ranch mule deer. The below photos are of deer in the fields our bunkhouse looks out over and the surrounding shady areas.

We also had the opportunity to observe a matriarchal herd of American Bison (Bison bison) over lunch one day when they surprised us by gradually surrounding our vehicle at a waterhole. The photo-op was great, but we were a bit disturbed by some of the bison's hygienic practices (see below video).

Stay-tuned for more Team Puma adventures in "C.S.I. - New Mexico Edition" as we head into an exciting summer of pellet counts, vegetation survey, kill sites, and lizard catching.

2010-05-14T20:23:00.013-06:00

LM2 Kill Update - Today the Summer 2010 recruits for Team Puma checked out our first kills of the field season and it was a very exciting day! As evidence of just how hard life can be for young pumas, today we found the first case of intraspecific predation by LM2 on an 8 to 10 month old unknown kitten. LM2 made the kill on April 30th, stayed on it for 3 days and consumed about 90% of the carcass. Although infanticide seems harsh it is a well documented behavior of pumas and other felid species such as the African Lion. LM2's most recent kill, a 3-5 yr. old mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of unknown sex, was made 11 days ago on May 3rd. Furman undergraduates Michael Jiang and M.C. Coppage pose below at the cache site for the first kill visited this summer. LM2 only stayed on this kill for 2 days, which is an unusually short amount of time for a large prey species like mule deer. We suspect the kill was scavenged by a black bear (Ursus americanus) due to bear sign found at the kill. The rumen had been eaten which is characteristic of bears and unusual for pumas. Three fresh bear scats were also found around the kill. The below photo shows a bear scat in the foreground and the puma kill in the background (look for the deer hoof). While LM2 may be sending puma kittens running, it seems he is still capable of being chased off a kill by a bear.

2010-05-06T07:18:00.002-06:00

Above is a graph summarizing the prey selection data we have collected for 6 gps collared mountain lions over the previous 2 years. (This does not represent all the kills actually made by all 6 mountain lions over the 24 month period). There are some biases in these data. First, most of these six mountain lions were only collared for a few months of the year, which may introduce seasonal bias. Second, many smaller prey items, such as rabbits, rats, birds, and foxes are may be completely consumed, leaving little or nothing for us to find at the kill site. Despite these biases in the data, there is a clear pattern in our data which supports the findings of other studies; the primary prey of mountain lions is mule deer. What will be more interesting to discover, as we collect more data, is whether or not there are distinct differences in male and female mountain lion diets and whether there are seasonal flucutations in the diet.

2010-04-19T19:44:00.002-06:00

When following pumas around, it doesn't take long to realize that these critters can move. They cover an amazing amount of extremely rough terrain in no time. This graphs shows a frequency distribution of the number of nights a female (LF1) and a male (LM3) puma traveled certain distances: less than 100 meters, 100-500m, 500-1,000m, 1,000 - 5,000m, and so on, up to 20 km in one night. Both of these pumas traveled at least 5 km (3.1 mi) on most nights, and quite often exceeded 10 km - as the crow flies, and if you've ever spent time in New Mexico, you know there's a whole lot more ground to cover for us mammals than for the crows. LM3 liked to wander more than LF1, as we would expect for a lone male relative to a female that often has small kittens to tend.

2010-04-13T10:08:00.002-06:00

In our study of puma diet, we have discovered that pumas often provide valuable resources to a host of other species, including other predators such as these eagles and coyote. Omnivores, such as these ravens, as well as jays and javelina, have also been seen feasting on the leftovers. This young elk was killed in January by LM2, who uncharacteristically left it uncovered. This represents one of the many indirect effects top predators can have on ecosystems.

2010-04-07T04:23:00.005-06:00

We have an interesting series of scent behavior being displayed by three different carnivores at the same location in the photos from top to bottom. On the 28th of January a coyote (Canis latrans) scent marked this spot. Only five days later a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) stopped to scent mark the same spot. One week later, our collared male LM3 got his nose caught by these scents. Because our cameras have a 1 minute delay, we can't be sure that LM3 didn't also scent mark this spot, although there was no definite scrape made.

2010-03-23T07:08:00.002-06:00

Video slideshow: LM2 revisiting elk kill mentioned in last post. He returns to the kill at 6:00 PM and then again at 9:40 PM, but doesn't appear to feed on it . This may be because he was wary of even the no flash cameras. When he returns at 11:00 PM, he promptly drags the carcass out of the camera's range to feed for the night.

2010-03-13T08:47:00.007-07:00

The 4th Annual Cougar Field Workshop was held this past week on the Ladder Ranch. Participants enjoyed beautiful weather, engaging presentations and discussion, and the unique opportunity to get out in the field and learn puma field techniques first hand. While we were unsuccessful at capturing a puma during the past week, participants were able to visit kill sites found using our already GPS collared pumas.

The following photos were taken by a Reconyx remote digital camera, set up on an LM2 cow elk kill. LM2 made the kill on the night of March 5th, we visited the kill on the 6th and set up cameras. The below photos show LM2 revisiting the kill on the night of the 6th, and dragging it just out of range of the cameras.

2010-03-09T17:38:00.008-07:00

LM3 Update: On January 22nd we received what seems to be the last consistent GPS data download from LM3's collar. The above and following photos of LM3, taken since the 22nd of January, confirm that he is alive, but his collar is not working.

LM3's frequent photos indicate he is still regularly moving through the camera grid, and will hopefully be able to be re-collared. Based on the location of the cameras capturing his photo in the past month we have set up a trap line to capture him along one of his many paths of travel. The photo below is from our first trap night with snares, showing LM3 checking a "scent station" only 30 ft. from a nearby snare! Unfortunately he came and went without traveling past our snare in what seemed to be just a slight detour to check and possibly mark at this "scent station". While getting SO close to catching a target animal in the first trap night was VERY frustrating, based on his photos we expect that he will be passing by this spot again soon, giving us a second chance at re-collaring him!

2010-01-31T09:53:00.005-07:00

Puma mating behavior: Since setting out our camera grid in Spring 2008 we have captured two photos with both male and female pumas in the same frame. These photos show a rare glimpse into puma mating behavior, which is thought to be some of the only times adult male and female pumas interact. The above photo shows a marked male (LM3) and female (LF1) puma walking along a game trail together beside Cave Creek. This photo was taken in December, when LF1 was still supposed to have kittens, probably indicating that for whatever reason her kittens were no longer with her. Sadly, since this photo was taken only a month before LF1 was killed we can't look forward to incorporating the kittens from this mating event into the study.
This first photo of puma mating behavior we captured in June 2009 (the date-time stamp on the photo is incorrect) also involved LF1 (collared) and probably LM3 as well. The photo was taken before LM3 had been captured, collared, and marked but his characteristic skinny tail is visible in this photo, so it is most likely LM3. Based on this photo, it is possible that LM3 was the father of LF1's kittens we were following this fall.

2010-01-23T12:17:00.008-07:00

Puma Kitten Photos: Before the new year we captured our first photos of puma kittens with our camera grid! The above kitten still has a little blue in its eyes and its spots are fading away, so it is probably around 10 months old.

This may be the same kitten that was captured in the first photo, just a day earlier, but it is difficult to tell because its spots are starting to fade and the flash makes them hard to see. This kitten also seems to look little more healthy than the first one, so it may be a sibling.
In the above photo, there is a kitten kicking its heels up and an adult female who is most likely the mother. Based on this series of photos on the same camera over 3 days we know there is probably a resident, uncollared female with at least one 10 month old kitten in our study area. It will be interesting to see if we are able to detect this family group on the cameras over the next few months.

LM3 has already been photographed by 3 of the new 9 cameras we set out, since they started running in November. This 140 lb. male is featured in the below photos and seems to have been in great shape this winter.

Stay tuned for more photos, thanks to the hard work of Harley Shaw and Kate Thibault, we are about to get in our camera grid photos for the months of December and January, and they will be posted soon!

2010-01-03T09:27:00.005-07:00

LF1 Killed: On 27 December, 2009 LF1's collar sent its last coordinates. Yesterday, Dr. Kate Thibault and I went to search the area where the last coordinates were recorded. We detected a mortality signal from the collar approximately 3 miles SE of the last coordinates. Much to our disappointment, we eventually located LF1's bloody collar buried beneath the bank of an arroyo and covered with rocks. Evidently, the person who killed LF1 was afraid to report the killing and return the collar. As LF1 was not on ranch property, it is legal to hunt mountain lions with a permit in New Mexico, and the state offers no protection to our study animals, whoever killed LF1 did not break the law, however unethical and costly their act may have been. LF1 had three young cubs (See previous posts) which will likely starve over the next week to 10 days. LF1 had been collared continuously for 22 months and had produced two litters during that time. She was first collared with the help of Steve Dobrott and Orvel Fletcher in February of 2008 for the Cougar Field Workshop. This fall Furman's Wild Semester class recaptured her and replaced her collar. She was an invaluable study animal. Although recording sources of mortality for mountain lions in this area is a goal of our project, we are disheartened to lose a female with young cubs.

2009-11-29T11:11:00.011-07:00

With 5 freshly collared mountain lions (a total of 8 individually marked), and 9 new cameras added to our camera grid (giving us a total of 25 cameras now!) this months camera check was VERY exciting! From the 16 original cameras and one of the new cameras we captured 6 Puma photos over the last month. Two uncollared females, one photo of LF1, two photos of LM3, and one photo of LF6 (already shown in the last blog post).

The above uncollared female mountain lion represents one of the only two uncollared lion photos we captured this month. We expect that now with 8 Pumas marked in the study area we will be seeing fewer unmarked lions. However, this lion may be one of our marked animals now since this photos was taken on October 31st, before LF4, LF5, and LF6 were collared or eartagged.

This uncollared female is not one of our marked lions, since she has no eartag, and all of our lion capturing and processing was completed by 10 AM on Novemer 10th, the day this photo was taken. So even with 8 marked lions potentially moving through the camera grid, there is still at least one uncollared female in the study area.

This is the fourth photo of LF1 we have captured since she was recollared on October 1st. The photo is a little blurry, but the bright yellow eartag in her left ear makes her easily identifiable.

The above photo is the first we have captured of LM3 since he was collared on November 4th. Based on the two photos we have of him already, it seems he is the "skinny tailed male" mountain lion that we had been picking up often in the camera grid. Because male lions travel significantly more than female lions on a nightly basis, we should expect to have more opportunities to capture our males lions in the camera grid.

This really nice photo of LM3 was taken by one of our 9 new grid cameras. The new cameras have expanded our camera study area from 32 square km (with 16 cameras) to 50 square km (with 25 cameras) and will hopefully increase our puma photo capture rate.

We rarely get photos with two different species in them, and this photo featuring a skunk being stalked by a coyote is a first. Unfortunately we didn't get any follow up photos to see how it turned out for the skunk, but chances are the coyote left the encounter a little more fragrant than he arrived.

2009-11-22T13:51:00.012-07:00

Even though we were not able to collar and keep up with LF6 using GPS technology, she has already shown up in our camera grid and in a few interesting photos from LM3's latest kill site. In the above photo from Camera Grid 03 we can see her eartag. This photo lets us know that LF6 seems to be doing fine after being captured, and represents the first evidence of our newly marked lions from the camera grid.

But the camera grid isn't the only place we've detected LF6 so far. An infrared remote digital camera set on a recent LM3 kill made on 11/17/2009 recorded photos of LF6 sharing the kill with LM3 on the night of 11/19/2009. The below photos show LM3 feeding on what we expect to be a kill he made, and allowing LF6 to feed on his kill as well.

LM3 shows up to the kill first. This evidence as well as GPS locations putting him on this kill since 11/17/2009 lead us to think that he made this kill and is sharing it with LF6 rather than the other way around.

LF6, notice the black and yellow eartag in her left ear, shows up to the kill later in the evening, and there is not yet any evidence that LM3 is still at the kill.

LF6's stomach still looks enlarged, probably indicating that she is still pregnant and has not yet had her litter of kittens since we collared her on 11/10/2009.

Soon after LF6 arrives at the kill, LM3 shows back up in the photos indicating that he remained on the kill and allowed LF6 to join him.

We did not get any photos of LF6 and LM3 feeding at the same time on the kill. However LM3's above posture while LF6 is still feeding on his kill in the background shows that they really are sharing the kill. LM3's tolerance of LF6 may be the result of LM3 being the father of the litter of kittens she is still carrying.

Based on these photos, it seems as if LM3 and LF6 stayed on the kill together for the rest of the night until they left the kill around 4:40 AM and 5:06 AM respectively on the morning of 11/20/2009. This shared kill behavior is very interesting because sharing of kills between male and female mountain lions is something that is thought to be a rare occurrence, only known to happen occasionally during mating. In this case a pregnant female (LF6), who is not in estrus and is unable to mate successfully right now, was found to be sharing a kill made by one of our collared male lions (LM3).

2009-11-18T09:27:00.004-07:00

Later in the morning on November 10th, after spending most of the night processing and collaring the female lion group, we were surprised to find the above female lion in Matthew McCollister's snare line. This female's age was estimated at 3-4 years, she weighed 90 lbs., and was pregnant at the time of capture. In the photo below you can see her distended stomach, probably indicating that she is going to have her litter in the next month. Her nipples were also enlarged and looked as if she has given birth to at least one litter before this one. We were not able to put a collar on this new female, LF6, but we did eartag her and will hopefully start to see photos of her, and maybe her new kittens, showing up in the camera grid.

2009-11-14T16:04:00.009-07:00

In the early morning of November 10th, Matthew McCollister and Megan Pitman deployed our 5th Northstar GPS collar on a 6-8 yr. old female puma caught in a group of three female pumas (one was already collared LF3) feeding on a single kill.

Because multiple sets of tracks were found in Seco Canyon when LF3 was snared there we set up remote digital cameras on her elk calf kill made on November 7th to determine if she was traveling and sharing kills with other lions who we might also be able to capture and collar. The above photos from the night of November 8th indicated that LF3 was feeding with at least 2 uncollared lions. We were able to capture all three lions in one night by splitting up the kill and making three cubby snare sets. As expected the lions returned to their kill on the night of the 9th, and had all been snared by the time we showed back up at 12AM.

The above photo shows all three female lions captured from this kill. LF3 (top) was previously collared at the end of October, and the GPS points from her collar made this capture possible. LF4 (bottom) received our last collar because she is an older 90 lb. female living in the area. LF5 (middle) is probably a yearling lion, weighing only 50 lbs, and she was marked with an eartag. It is suspected that these three cats are related where LF4 may be the mother of LF3 (her 2yr+ old offspring) and LF5 (her yearling offspring). We do not yet know how these three lions are related, but hopefully blood samples collected during processing will be able to determine their relatedness. By following LF3 and LF4’s kill sites closely we will be able to document their interactions and determine if they continue to share kills between themselves and LF5, something thought to be a very rare occurrence among adult mountain lions.

2009-11-04T22:54:00.007-07:00

Today with the help of Brian Jansen, Matthew McCollister, Steve Dobrott, and Bill Mader we captured and collared LM3! This 140 lb. male mountain lion, recognized by his unusually skinny tail, has been photographed several times in our camera grid. We have been looking forward to capturing this male because we know he regularly travels through our remote camera grid.

2009-10-25T14:21:00.001-06:00

Above, LF3 is waking up from the immobilization.

2009-10-25T08:04:00.006-06:00

On the morning of 24 October, 2009 we captured and collared our third female of the study. Orvel Fletcher's hounds had apparently bayed one or more puma in the inaccessible bluffs of this canyon on the 23d. LF3 is approximately 2 years old, weighs 32 Kg (70lb) female, has a total length of 186 cm (73in), tail length of 73 cm (29in). Her right front paw heel pad measures 48 mm (1.9in) long and 54 mm (2.0in) wide. She was anesthetized with Ketamed reversed with Atipamezole. Furman's Wild Semester class had a second opportunity to participate in collaring and data collection. As of 7:20am on the 25th LF3 appears to be in good health.

2009-10-16T08:43:00.002-06:00

On 14 October, 2009 Matthew McCollister captured and collared the second mature male for our study. The puma was in excellent health and the capture went smoothly with no complications. This large male weighed 120 lbs (55kg) and measured 80 inches (204cm) in total length.

2009-10-13T22:56:00.003-06:00

On October 12, 2009 Matthew McCollister relocated LF1's den site to verify that her cubs were still in good condition following our collaring of LF1 on the 1st of October. Matthew found three cubs healthy, mobile, and with a little bit of attitude.

2009-10-04T16:55:00.010-06:00

On October first, the first day of lion trapping, we were pleased to find that LF1 had made a fresh Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) kill the night before. The Furman Wild Semester 2009 class helped carry a cage trap up to the kill and set up what was to be a VERY successful lion trap! Below are photos of the trap set-up and the night of the lion capture.

We used the large box cage trap for this capture because we had acclimated LF1 to its use over the summer by setting it up in the same way. By knowing her GPS locations we were able to find the kill and put it in the trap, making the chance of her returning and successfully being captured very high.

LF1 returned to the kill and approached the trap late in the evening, at 9:58 PM.

By 9:59PM she had entered and triggered the trap. There were many photos of her in the trap, but this one of her eating the kill while in the trap shows that she was at least calm enough to think about a snack.

By 12:05AM LF1 had been processed, re-collared, was waking up from the tranquilization, and about to be on her way.

2009-09-21T14:23:00.005-06:00

On September 15th we confirmed that LF1 has “kicked out” her yearling kittens from last year to make room for a new litter of 3 kittens. In an attempt to set cameras on her most recent kill I accidentally disturbed her at her new den site. Fortunately I was able to get a good look at LF1, and her 3 new spotted kittens, thought to be born around the 12th of September, in their den under a large rock overhang surrounded by brushy oaks. This is the most recent photo we have of her, but it shows no sign of her older kittens still being around or evidence of the new ones that were on the way.

2009-09-21T10:21:00.012-06:00

Below are a set of recent photos from the camera grid. We captured a record number of Puma photos during the last camera check period, 19 total, including 2 photos of the collared LF1, 12 uncollared male photos, and 2 uncollared female photos.

Above is a photos of LF1 on a game trail in Animas Creek. She should still have her yearling kittens with her when this photo was taken, but we have only been able to get photos of the whole family group by setting cameras on kills.

Above is a photo of an uncollared male puma in the same location as the above LF1 photo. This part of the study area sees a lot of puma traffic according to our camera grid photos.

This above male lion, unless he is just passing through, probably shares an overlapping home range with LF1 and one closely bordering that of LM1. We have GPS data showing LF1 traveling through this area and have captured 3 photos of LM1 at this same location.

Above is a rare photo of two species, the Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis), in the same frame. We have captured one other photo with a Gray Fox and Striped Skunk in the same frame.

Above is one of the few and best Badger (Taxidea taxis) photos we have captured so far.

2009-07-20T12:22:00.002-06:00

Short of DNA evidence, this is probably the best evidence we will have that LF1 is still traveling with the two cubs that Megan and I first observed in October of 2008. In this photo there are three puma, two uncollared puma clearly visible in the foreground and one set of puma eye-shine in the back right. LF1's collar data confirm that she was near this camera on this night.

2009-07-20T12:15:00.002-06:00

Using new infra-red cameras purchased with funding from a Howard Hughes grant, we have more confirmation that LF1 is traveling with at least one cub. Here she can be clearly seen inside our cage trap with another small puma.

2009-06-29T11:48:00.002-06:00

Megan and our recent undergraduate assistants, Michael Jiang and Eliza Stucker, were fortunate enough to set cameras on another of LF1's recent kills. This time they also placed the kill in a box trap, wired open to prevent it from actually catching a puma. The idea here is to condition these puma to take their kills from a box trap, in the hope that we have a quick and easy recapture and recollar in the fall. Ideally, we will also collar LF1's offspring as well.

In the overlay photographs below, we still seem to be seeing two uncollared puma at LF1's kills. In the first photograph we have an overlay of what is almost certainly the same puma. These photos were taken only one minute apart and show two images of a puma of the same size. This puma is about the same size as LF1.

In the overlay photograph below note that although the angle of the body is different, the forepaws are in essentially the same place. Now compare the shoulder height, the white mark on the back of the left ear, and the size of the forelimbs. It seems very likely that these are two different puma - consistent with the photos taken at the kill on the 20th. If these are two different puma, it would be very unlikely that they are independent adults sharing a second kill with LF1.

2009-06-29T11:37:00.003-06:00

Our recent photos of multiple puma at the same kill site has generated some speculation as to the identity of these individuals. As LF1 is the only marked puma, her identity is the only one that is certain. I have created some transparent photo-overlays to help us determine how many puma there are at the kills, and their likely identity. Below is an overlay of what may be two different puma at the kill on 20 June, 2009. We first interpreted these two photos as representing two different animals, one slightly larger than the other (see photos from previous post). This overlay seems to confirm that original hypothesis. Note that the right forefoot of both cats is in the same location. Now compare the height of the back, the shoulder, and the head size. This overlay strongly suggests that there are two cats of different size; obviously, neither is LF1. From what we currently know about adult puma social interaction, the sharing of kills seems to be relatively rare.

2009-06-23T16:35:00.006-06:00

EXCITING NEWS: LF1's cubs are alive and well. We had reason to believe that LF1 gave birth to cubs on the 7th of August, 2008. In October of 2008, Megan Pitman and I saw two cubs with LF1 in a rock outcrop. In November, 2008 when LF1 was recollared there was some risk that she would abandon these cubs. We have been anxious to confirm whether or not the cubs were still with her since that time.

In Megan's latest round of camera checking she downloaded a photo of LF1 with a robust, male puma. This male is large enough to be a mate to LF1 and not an offspring.
On the 19th of June, 2009 Megan discovered one of LF1's kills that was only made in the early morning hours of the same day. Megan set up a remote camera on the kill to determine whether or not LF1 was indeed still traveling with cubs and sharing kills with them. The photos below confirm that LF1 is probably traveling with healthy cubs - large ones.

LF1 above. She is a little smaller than average adult female, weighing only 65lbs.

Cub one. This cub is larger than LF1 herself, but noticeably smaller than the other cub (below) which is almost certainly a male.

Cub two. This is likely a male cub, but may not be the same male photographed with LF1 on 12 June.

2009-06-23T16:30:00.002-06:00

BAD NEWS: It appears that the collar LM1 was wearing has failed. We last received a transmission from him on the 18th of May. We are hopeful that he will reappear on the cameras soon.

2009-04-25T08:55:00.001-06:00

LM1 recaptured and recollared! more soon....

2009-02-16T11:54:00.002-07:00

Above is a map of LF1's locations for the last 362 days. The yellow dots show her movements over the last 30 days. She has expanded her home range considerably south in the last few weeks. It's interesting to note that she has basically avoided lower Animas Creek since she had her cubs. It may be that she is avoiding the large males that frequent that area. Based on photo data we know that at least two big toms are often found on lower Animas.

2009-02-09T16:24:00.003-07:00

A white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) showed up in one of our more interesting photos last month (see the photo below). The white-nosed coati is listed as a species of "Greatest Conservation Need" by the NMDGF. It is also listed as endangered by the IUCN. In 1976 J.H. Kaufmann wrote that the white-nosed coati was only a rare visitor to the state of New Mexico with one confirmed record just north of Silver City. It is possible that this species is increasing its range in New Mexico. Another possibility is that no one has really looked for them in a rigorous and systematic way.

2009-02-09T15:58:00.001-07:00

2009-02-03T11:49:00.003-07:00

Eleven photos of uncollared cougars were collected during the same time period that we recorded two photos of LM1 and LF1. There appear to be at least one uncollared male and one uncollared female in these photos.

2009-02-03T11:40:00.013-07:00

2009-01-28T15:36:00.003-07:00

Below are two photos of LM1 from December. You can see in the top photo that he has a bit of belly fat. This cougar is in great shape. We'll be working to have him recollared in the next couple of months.

2009-01-28T15:30:00.001-07:00

2009-01-20T17:01:00.002-07:00

Below are the first remote camera photos of LF1 that we have recorded since she was recollared in November. What is most interesting about these few photos is that she has been traveling throughout our camera grid for most of the last three months without detection. LM1 on the other hand, has been photographed at least 10 times over this same period. The bottom photo is an extreme closeup of LF1's neck and collar. It almost appears as if she rubbed her cheek against the camera.

2009-01-20T16:55:00.002-07:00

First remote camera photos of LF1 taken since she was recollared in November.

2009-01-19T19:19:00.003-07:00

The map above is color coded for elevation, with the lower elevations in blue towards the right side of the map and higher elevations in green and yellow. This is a path map of all 1,061 locations we have thus far collected for LF1. Of course, the yellow lines do not actually represent the path that LF1 took between points, but they do serve to illustrate the order in which she moved between points, and perhaps more importantly they show where her movements have been concentrated. She has been collared for 11 months as of today.

2008-12-31T18:45:00.002-07:00

LF1 has been moving throughout our camera grid system over the last several weeks. Curiously, we haven't photographed her once during his time. On the other hand we've photographed LM1 at least 8 times during this same period. Although we have very little data, this pattern suggests that a female with cubs may be using different travel routes than those used by adult males.

2008-12-31T18:44:00.003-07:00

Below there are a number of new photos from our remote cameras. We detected LM1 at least twice as well as an uncollared cougar, likely a male. Other notable photos include a black-backed side-striped color variant of the hooded skunk and a house cat that has wandered very far from its house.

2008-12-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

An uncollared cougar. Judging by the head size and the overall body size, this is likely a male.

2008-12-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

Another shot of LM1 about two weeks after the photo below.

2008-12-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

LM1.

2008-12-31T18:38:00.001-07:00

An interesting color variant of the hooded skunk. These photos may represent the first documentation of this species east of the continental divide in New Mexico.

2008-12-31T18:37:00.001-07:00

A very misplaced house cat. You can almost hear him saying "We are not in Kansas anymore."

2008-12-31T18:32:00.002-07:00

Bobcat. Note the lobes on the back edge of the hind paw and the white spots on the backs of the ears.

2008-12-13T12:09:00.002-07:00

We have recorded several photographs of an uncollared male at this camera in the past. Likely, most of the photographs are of the same individual. The individual in the photograph above, plus LM1, LF1, and the uncollared female photographed on 22 and 23 November make at least 4 adult puma currently frequenting the camera grid - about 64 sq Km.

2008-12-12T07:57:00.002-07:00

This map shows LF1's movements for the previous 2 weeks. There have been 3 significant clusters of points during this time which could indicate prey cache sites.

2008-12-09T15:51:00.003-07:00

This photograph, taken three days after the bloody photograph below, shows what appears to be a large puncture wound in LM1's right cheek. There also appears to be some swelling. As long as the wound is allowed to drain LM1 should recover without complication.

2008-12-04T09:25:00.004-07:00

Below are a series of photographs that likely indicate breeding behavior between LM1 and an unidentified female. Notice that LM1 has significant wounds on his face, particularly the right cheek. He is followed a short time later by an unidentified female. She appears to have blood on her left hind leg. The two pass back and forth in front of this camera 4 times in the span of an hour and a half. Frequently, when males and females come together to mate, things get rough.

2008-12-04T09:22:00.006-07:00

2008-12-03T15:56:00.002-07:00

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.

2008-11-25T09:12:00.002-07:00

Since LF1 was recollared she has moved back into our camera grid, as shown above. We are hopeful that we may detect her and her cubs soon. Our objective is to calibrate remote camera detection rates with GPS movement data in order enhance the usefullness of remote cameras as a reliable survey tool.

2008-11-17T07:50:00.002-07:00

This is the best photo Megan and I were able to take of one of LF1's cubs. The cub is laying on its left side with its head oriented towards the top of the photo. Look for the black spot on its muzzle.

2008-11-11T05:33:00.002-07:00

LF1 Recollared! Thanks again to the efforts of Orvel Fletcher as well as Brian Jansen, Lisa Haynes, and Steve Dobrott LF1 has been recollared with a brand new Northstar GPS collar, purchased with funding from the Oregon Zoo. Funding from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and the New York State Zoo paid for fuel and medical supplies that made the capture possible. More soon!

2008-10-30T14:05:00.011-06:00

Six days of camping, 38.5 miles of walking, 9,000ft of climbing, and 15 minutes of watching cougar cubs! That's what Megan Pitman and I did from 20 to 25 October.

The week of 18 to 26 October, while Orvel and Debbie Fletcher, Steve Dobrott, and Harley Shaw made their own heroic attempts to recapture and recollar LM1 using hounds, Megan Pitman and I hiked into what has become the back-country of Animas Creek since flooding this summer destroyed the roads, in an attempt to recollar LF1. Although a series of unlucky events prevented us from recollaring LF1 (more on that in a bit) we did manage to confirm that LF1 had a litter of cubs on or about the 7th of August. As a result our data on her movement and kills are much more valuable.

Below I have posted maps of our daily hikes, including the elevation profiles. The elevation profiles still astound me.

Day 1, the 20th.

Day 2, the 21st.

Day 3, the 22nd.

Day 4, the 23rd. That was a long one. We had to return to the car for food and to make contact with the ranch headquarters. Then we had to return to camp and search for LF1's most recent kill before dark. A healthy walk of some 14 miles.

Day 5, Friday the 24th.

Day 6, Saturday the 25th.

2008-10-30T13:56:00.003-06:00

The New York State Zoo in Watertown, New York just made a generous contribution to the project through their "Cans for Cougars" project. Many, many thanks to the zoo and Sue Sabik in particular for their support. THANKS SUE!

2008-10-14T12:02:00.003-06:00

LF1 has settled on another prey cache it seems. She has moved a little further from the suspected den site than she had in the first thirty days. Hopefully, she will be with a prey cache next week and will be easier for us to recapture and recollar. Unfortunately, she remains far from our camera array.

2008-10-12T14:20:00.002-06:00

Our latest download from LF1 shows that she has moved off of her last prey cache but remains within the same area that she has occupied since the suspected denning (rose colored polygon, circle indicates suspected den site). To the right her locations I've added the camera grid that was set up by Orvel Fletcher and Megan Pitman in the spring. At the time the grid was constructed LF1 was almost constantly within its borders. As you can see, she has been far from our cameras for the last few months. Fortunately, we are still gettin occassional shots of LM1, like the AMAZING photo BELOW.

2008-10-10T08:13:00.004-06:00

We captured LM1 on camera twice (we think) in this latest survey period. The difference in his appearance between the two photos strains credibility. Contrast the thin, hunched cougar in the bottom photo with the sleek, well feed cougar in the top photo. We know that the cougar in the bottom photo is a male (The scrotum can be seen beneath the tail.) and also wearing a GPS collar of the same make and model as the collars we use. Also there is only one other GPS collared cougar in our study area (that we know of) and that is LF1 who was 5 to 10 Km from this camera site on the day the photo was taken. Even accounting for the differences in lighting, distance from the camera, and the three weeks that passed between the two photos, the dramatic difference almost has us wondering if another collared cougar has wandered onto our site.

2008-10-10T08:12:00.001-06:00

It is astonishing how many photos were are getting with foxes carrying prey items, such as the photo above.

2008-10-10T08:06:00.001-06:00

recent photo of a small fox with a big rabbit

2008-10-10T06:19:00.002-06:00

Below are several bobcat photos retrieved from our lates round of camera checking. All but one of the photos were taken on the same camera which makes us wonder if there might not be a bobcat den nearby.

2008-10-10T06:18:00.000-06:00

2008-10-10T06:17:00.002-06:00

BIG bobcat

2008-10-10T06:17:00.001-06:00

2008-10-10T06:16:00.001-06:00

Just enough to know it's a bobcat

2008-10-10T06:14:00.000-06:00

2008-10-08T09:04:00.003-06:00

We did not receive the last scheduled download from LF1's collar but we did receive one today. This download contained location data for the last two days. It appears that LF1 has a second prey cache about a kilometer to the NW of her last one. Unfortunately, we are missing 4 days of location data between these events. The rose colored polygon represents the extent of her movements in the month following her suspected denning. You can see by the map that she is continuing to stay within this area and relatively close to the suspected den site (red circle).

2008-10-01T06:14:00.002-06:00

We were surprised to receive a second download in a row from LM1's collar. Previously it had been 6 weeks since we had received any data from his collar and we had assumed that the collar was permanently damaged. We only received 2 of a possible 12 locations from the previous days which is not enough for us to identify prey cache sites. However, we can at least follow his movements to some degree.

2008-09-30T05:29:00.002-06:00

Below are some of the exciting recent photographs we have gotten from our remote cameras. Flooding during the summer destroyed several of our cameras; but, generous donations enabled us to replace those cameras and thus continue with our cougar detection probability study. However, as you can see from the photos below, we are able to gather data on many species besides cougars with these cameras.

2008-09-30T05:25:00.002-06:00

Above we have a good photo of a bobcat (Lynx rufus). We do not know yet if photograph frequency is correlated with actual population size, but if so, it would suggest that there are more mountain lions in this area than bobcats. We have almost 3 times as many mountain lion photographs as bobcat photographs.

2008-09-30T05:18:00.002-06:00

The animal in the photograph above is the very rarely seen western hognosed skunk (Conepatus mesoleucus). Note the long front claws and the bare nose pad. These skunks previously ranged from Nicaragua to Colorado. In the 20's and 30's specimens were collected in Colorado and Oklahoma (according to Dragoo and Honeycutt). Now they are only found in the U.S. in southern Arizona and New Mexico. This one was photographed with one of our generously donated replacement cameras on Animas Creek.

2008-09-30T05:16:00.003-06:00

The seldom seen western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis).

2008-09-30T05:11:00.000-06:00

Mule deer fawns captured on remote camera in late August.

2008-09-29T08:47:00.002-06:00

Here are LF1's locations for the last 10 days. Looks like she has successfully cached two large prey items during that time. The red circle indicates the location of the likely den site. IF she did give birth around the 6th of August those cubs are about 54 days old at this point. Logan and Sweanor, working in the San Andres mountains to the east of our study site, found that during the first 8 weeks of a cubs life, the mother's average distance from the den was about 1 km. They also found that the average age at which cubs moved more than 1.5 Km from the den was 50 days. Cubs are quite agile by this age. Since LF1 has spent so many consecutive days way from the suspected den site at these two kills, we can reasonably hypothesize that the cubs have left the den and are at these kills with her. That is, of course, if there actually are any cubs! We hope to have confirmation soon.

2008-09-28T08:48:00.002-06:00

We received a pleasant surprise yesterday when a download from LM1's collar showed up in my e-mail. We had not received any data from LM1 in six weeks, since the 11th of August. We received two good locations which appear in the middle of LM1's home range. I've included the three locations from 11 August along with these two data points received on the 25th and 27th of September. The red circle on the left side of the map indicates the location of LF1's suspected den site.

2008-09-28T08:06:00.002-06:00

LF1 seems to have found a large prey item. Our most recent data indicates that she was in the same spot from 5:00 am on the 20th until 1:00am on the 25th of September. This is the longest period of time she has spent on a suspected kill early August.

2008-09-23T08:24:00.002-06:00

The collar download from this morning indicates that LF1 has a kill about half a mile from the probable den site. Notice that both points 578 and 579 are both located at this site.

2008-09-23T06:22:00.003-06:00

Here we have two additional photos of cougar taken in the last 3 weeks. It is possible that these two photos are of the same animal as they were taken 5 days apart and within a few miles of each other. Neither are collared and both appear to be adult males.

2008-09-23T06:13:00.003-06:00

These two photos were taken a week apart. This particular camera seems to be having trouble focusing. However, we can discerne what appears to be evidence of lactation on the cougar in the bottom photo. Compare it to the cat in the top photo.

2008-09-23T06:11:00.001-06:00

LF1 is remaining within a mile to a mile and a half from point 517.

2008-09-17T16:24:00.002-06:00

We didn't receive any data from LF1's collar on the 14th. The data we received this morning contained three dubious data points (unlabeled in blue) and one reliable data point, number 575. If we could only get one reliable data point, surely this one is the most interesting. Point 575 is located precisely in the spot where we suspect LF1 has a den of cubs. Perhaps the data was not sent on the 14th because she was in the den during the satellite uplink window.

2008-09-11T11:22:00.001-06:00

LF1 is still staying relatively close to point 517. And, it looks like she might have a kill at 573/574.

2008-09-08T10:35:00.002-06:00

The last two downloads from LF1's collar have contained very little usable data. The 5 September download contained no usable points. Today's download contained about 6 of the possible 12 locations. LF1 remains relatively close to the 517 point. As you can see from the map above her movements over the last week are still pretty much within the small area oulined in the map below. Point 564 is right back at the rock outcrop where Kate Thibault found the likely den.

2008-09-04T08:29:00.002-06:00

Here we can see the dramatic reduction in LF1's range of movement since we first suspected her of having a maternity den. The blue shape represents her home range for the 30 days prior to her stay at the den. The red shape shows her home range for approximately 25 days since her stay at the den. Her movements prior to the supposed denning covered an area 9.5 times greater than her movements since the supposed denning.

2008-09-04T06:11:00.001-06:00

LF1 remains near point 517, still suggesting that there is a birthing den here.

2008-08-30T14:09:00.002-06:00

Due to some software issues I have been late in mapping LF1 over the last 10 days. Here is the latest download as of 30 August, 2008. It still appears that LF1 could have a litter of cubs at the 517 site. Although she has made kills up to 4 Km away from the suspected den site, she has returned to it (or very near to it according to the coordinates) at least 4 times since the 12th of August. She has also made at least four kills since that time.

2008-08-28T16:13:00.002-06:00

Below is an extraordinary series of photos of a very efficient fox! We recorded 8 photos of at least one fox with a prey item in its mouth in 7 days. Prey items included: packrat, ground squirrel, and cottontails. I suspect that the camera is set near a den with hungry pups. In almost 5,000 camera nights in 2007 we recorded only a single instance of fox predation. It will be interesting to see if we soon see small foxes in the photos.

2008-08-28T16:09:00.007-06:00

2008-08-22T05:54:00.002-06:00

The data we are getting from LF1's collar is still consistent with the idea that she has a litter of cubs. Although she has made another trip 1.5 miles to the SW of the 517 spot, it looks like she returned to it. Point 531 shows that she moved back towards 517 from point 530. Then there is a 17 hour gap with no data between points 531 and 532, again suggesting that something was blocking the collar communication with the satellites - perhaps the rocks of a den. She shows up again at 532 a short distance from a possible kill marked by 526 and 527 and less than a mile from 517.

2008-08-21T06:27:00.002-06:00

It appears that the GPS component of LM1's collar has stopped working. We detected his VHF signal on the 8th and 9th of August and this photo was taken on the 15th of August. However, we have not received any downloads from his collar since the 1st of August. It looks like we may be trying to recollar much sooner than we had anticipated.

2008-08-21T04:51:00.002-06:00

It appears that LF1 may have cubs. She was first located at the potential den site (517) on the 6th of August. Kate went to investigate what we thought was a prey cache on the 9th. No cache was found, but Kate did locate LF1 beneath some rocks. No collar data was transmitted between the 7th and the 11th, indicating that LF1 was probably still beneath these rocks. Since the 11th she has made 3 trips, up to 1.5 miles away, but has repeatedly returned to the 517 area. Between the 11th and the 18th there are two days for which no data was recorded. Again, this suggests that she was beneath the rocks.

2008-08-12T08:21:00.003-06:00

Today's collar download from LF1 contained only a single location, indicating some interference with transmission. She is still at the rock outcrop in Animas Canyon (See the map below). The fact that the download contained so little data probably means that she has remained beneath the rocks where Kate found her on Saturday. Again, since there is no prey cache at this location, we strongly suspect that she has had a litter of cubs. Logan and Sweanor found that litter production in the San Andres population peaked in August and September.