1. Cougar status in a human dominated landscape
New Mexico
Cougar status in a human dominated landscape

2. Basics Cougar Season: Oct. 1- Mar. 31
Year around on private lands and BHS areas
Bag is 1 adult, 2 on BHS areas, and special mgmt. areas
Avg. harvest is +/- 200 animals
Avg. harvest increases with time, non-resident harvest increases with time
Hound use is allowed and accounts for 90% of harvest
Long term avg. of 40% female in harvest

3. Total Harvest

4. Management History 1867: $5.00 bounty
: Bounty suspended, cougar unprotected.
1971: Protected, hunting in SW Only, bag 1
: Seasons increasingly liberal
: 11 month season, bag 2.
1984: 3 month season, bag 1.
: 4 month season, bag 1
: 6 month season, year around season in BHS areas, bag 1
: Year long in BHS areas, bag 2, year around season on private property
2007-… : Dual harvest limit, sport and total sustainable mortality, population model and management driven

5. Management Concerns Total mortality
Sustainable mortality (depredations, BHS removals, roadkill, private land harvest, preventative control, etc.)
Sport harvest (private land harvest not included in sport harvest)
Management objectives by region (BHS, wild ungulate protection, livestock depredation issues, etc.)
Female harvest, particularly older females

6. How to Fix it? Create a new habitat model
Try and include all variables
Do the math and see what you get
Does it make sense?
If it makes sense try to apply it for some period of time
And you get…

8. Model Habitat Components
Super Core = > 2200 k² w/good prey density in large patches w/low road density (sources)
Core = k² patches w/low road density (sources and dispersal)
Minimum patch = k² patches (dispersal and minimal sources)
Dispersal = k² patches (dispersal only)

9. Faults with Model Based on density estimates
Based on assumptions of prey usage (density estimates)
Based on assumptions of how much habitat a given cat uses (density estimates)
Based on what a cat would do given the choice of what to do if it does what we assume it would do if we were it…

10. Current Research & Needs
Female removal = no resident males
Habitat use and connectivity
Genetic linkages
Prey switching and/or subsidized predation
Source/sink dynamics ($, grad student, ??)
And yet again, how do you count freakin’ lions?