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| Posted: 17 Feb 2008 7:02 PM | ||
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Posted: 2008-02-17 00:03:02 Post subject: Female big cats follow males out of Black Hills
Trend could portend widespread colonies By Jeff Martin Mostt reports of South Dakota mountain lions traveling hundreds of miles across the country have involved males. Now, researchers are closely watching another phenomenon unfolding in the Black Hills. Female lions are beginning to make their own long-distance treks, and the cats are looking to breed. That holds the potential for a far greater effect on the rest of South Dakota and states throughout the central U.S., experts say. With males already on the move, traveling females raise the specter of lions reclaiming old habitats they haven't called home in more than a century. Recent evidence of females "dispersing" long distances has scientists excited about the possibilities. In January, a female lion from South Dakota's Black Hills turned up in Montana's Custer National Forest, about 40 miles west of Broadus, Mont. That's about 130 miles from its home in the Black Hills. Earlier, on Dec. 3, a female lion was killed by a landowner near Howard, more than 300 miles east of the Black Hills. Tests are being done to learn more about that animal. "Those states to the east of us and south of us need to start thinking, 'Do we want to have a population of mountain lions?' " said John Kanta, a regional wildlife manager with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. Kanta studies lions in the Black Hills, home to an estimated 200 to 215 big cats. February already has been a wild month for the nation's lions, also known as cougars. On Feb. 5, wildlife officials using DNA confirmed that a cat seen about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee on Jan. 18 was a lion - Wisconsin's first such confirmation since 1905, when a lion was killed in the state. Two days later, a 100-pound male lion was killed by a conservation officer in Scottsbluff, Neb., a state where there's strong evidence lions are not just wandering through - they're homesteading. "We know these large predators can re-establish themselves in areas where they've been eliminated," said Adrian Wydeven, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ecologist. Such a scenario could be set in motion if a wandering male lion finds a mate in suitable terrain, said Mark Dowling, a director of the Cougar Network, a nonprofit research organization. "In order to have recolonization, you need males and females," he said, "and that's what we're going to be watching in coming years is where the females show up." Elsewhere: In Wisconsin, now home to an estimated 500-600 wolves, Wydeven said: "If we can support a wolf population, I don't see any reason we couldn't support a cougar population." In Nebraska, there are increasing signs that lions are reclaiming western parts of the state, including the body of a kitten found near Chadron one year ago. That probably represents the state's first evidence of cougar reproduction in modern times, said Sam Wilson of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. In Missouri, the Department of Conservation's Mountain Lion Response Team confirmed 10 instances of mountain lions across the state since 1994, though origins of the animals are not known. Next week, wildlife experts from across the country are meeting on Ted Turner's ranch in New Mexico, learning how to recognize signs of lions. It's too early to know what female lions will do in coming years, said Jonathan Jenks, distinguished professor of wildlife and fisheries sciences at South Dakota State University. "We know that our animals can go 650-plus miles, because that's what they've gone to date," Jenks said of male lions in the region. "We don't have as much data on females on how far they can go." What is becoming clear: Large parts of the Midwest and South might support lions. Arkansas contained the highest percentage of potentially favorable habitat - 19 percent - among nine states studied by Southern Illinois University Carbondale wildlife ecologist Clay Nielsen and SIU graduate research assistant Michelle LaRue. Although much of the Plains is considered unsuitable for lions, the research by Nielsen and LaRue suggests that large parts of the central U.S. hold strong potential to support them, particularly the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, as well as parts of Oklahoma and the Arrowhead region of northern Minnesota.  __________________ The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
Albert Einstein |
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| Posted: 17 Feb 2008 7:03 PM | ||
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Posted: 2008-02-16 03:09:24 Post subject: Central USA sees mountain lion migrations
By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — States in the Midwest and South that have not been home to mountain lions in the past century are starting to see some migrating big cats within their borders. Wildlife officials say their numbers may increase if the trend of more females roaming into their regions continues. On Feb. 5, wildlife officials using DNA confirmed that a cat seen about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee on Jan. 18 was a lion — Wisconsin's first confirmation since 1905. Two days later, a 100-pound male lion was killed by a conservation officer in Scottsbluff, Neb. There's new evidence lions are not just wandering through the state, but making it their home. John Kanta, a regional wildlife manager with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, says the migration is due in part to the fact that the Black Hills of South Dakota are saturated with mountain lions. Young males, he says, are often forced out by older cats. Most reports of mountain lions — also known as cougars and pumas, among other names — traveling hundreds of miles across the country in recent years involved males. Now, Kanta says, researchers are noticing female pumas beginning to make their own long-distance treks and looking to breed. That, he says, holds the potential for a far greater impact on states throughout the central USA, from Wisconsin in the north to Arkansas in the south. "We know these large predators can re-establish themselves in areas where they've been eliminated," said Adrian Wydeven, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ecologist. Such a scenario could be set in motion if a male cougar finds a mate in suitable terrain, said Mark Dowling, co-founder of the Cougar Network, a non-profit research organization. Last year, the body of a cougar kitten was found near Chadron, Neb. That was significant, as it probably represented the state's first evidence of reproduction in modern times, said Sam Wilson, manager of the non-game mammal and furbearer program with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Elsewhere: •Montana. A female puma from South Dakota's Black Hills turned up in Montana's Custer National Forest. That's about 130 miles from its home in the Black Hills. Earlier, a female puma was killed by a landowner more than 300 miles east of the Black Hills. •Missouri. The Department of Conservation's Mountain Lion Response Team has confirmed 10 instances of mountain lions in the state since 1994. •Arkansas. Arkansas contained the highest percentage of potentially favorable habitat — 19% — among nine states studied by Southern Illinois University Carbondale wildlife ecologist Clay Nielsen and SIU graduate research assistant Michelle LaRue. Although much of the Plains is considered unsuitable for pumas, the research by Nielsen and LaRue suggests that large parts of the central USA hold strong potential to support them, particularly the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, as well as parts of Oklahoma and Minnesota. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-14-mountainlions_N.ht ... __________________ The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
Albert Einstein |
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