I walked into the Normanna Post Office a few months ago and someone there showed me a photo from a game camera that he says was of a Mountain Lion. The picture was not great so I squinted and rotated his smart phone to new angles. I could not convince myself it was really a Mountain Lion. Only its hindquarters and tail were visible, and to my eye, it could have been a big dog. I still think about that photo and I hope it really was a Mountain Lion living only a few miles from our home. Knowing that it could have been one makes me proud to be a Texan. Of course, the photo shown here is certainly a Mountain Lion captured with a game camera, but not from our part of Texas. What a beautiful animal! Wikimedia Commons photo.
12 Dec 2016 – A Big Cat Is Beautiful to Behold
Actually, there are too many words in that sentence. I think it ought to read: “A cat is beautiful to behold.” I agree with Leonardo da Vinci’s statement: “The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” Big or small, felines are beautiful creations.
Although I like looking at all cats, seeing a native cat in the wild is especially thrilling. I remember every Bobcat sighting I have ever had. I treasure the single sighting I have had of a Mountain Lion.
It happened in South Texas. We were birding on the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge a few years ago. Suddenly, on the road in front of our van, a big, brown cat appeared. Two half-grown kittens joined her. The kittens gamboled and wrestled with each other as they crossed the road. “Mama” sat down on the road for a moment as the kittens played and re-entered the brush. She looked weary; I think those kittens were wearing her out! She got up and followed the kittens. My last sight was of her long round tail slowly disappearing into the brush.
The whole episode lasted only a few seconds. My husband did not see the cats (he was watching a falcon in the sky.) I could scarcely believe what I had seen, except that the observation had taken my breath away. I had seen Mountain Lions in the wild!
Even naturalists are very lucky to see a Mountain Lion. There are just not that many of them. I think one of the best things about being a Master Naturalist is that Texas still has wild places and wild things to fill them. Even with the human population encroaching on wildlife habitat, you can still get out and see Coyotes, Bobcats, and Mountain Lions.
Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) go by many names: Puma, cougar, wildcat, and panther are just a few of them. They are more closely related to the small, domesticated cats (Felis domesticus) than the big wild cats like Leopards, Jaguars, and African Lions. Mountain Lions are the only big cats that can purr like our housecats. However, the Mountain Lions’ size (120 to 180 pounds) puts them into the “big cats” group.
Because they are big, and because they are apex predators (at least in the absence of other apex predators like wolves and bears) we tend to fear them. Still, predators have a job to do in the ecosystems in which they live. Their job is to keep the prey species (like deer, rabbits, javelinas, and feral hogs) under control. We all know of areas in Texas where the deer are pests and feral hogs an extreme nuisance. Mountain Lions can control the prey populations naturally.
Of course, ranchers believe that Mountain Lions prey on domestic livestock. I suspect that they do, but perhaps not to the degree we have come to believe. In a balanced ecosystem, I think Mountain Lions prefer small wild animals that make easy meals.
For example, in the mountains of Southern Arizona, another big cat, the Jaguar, has moved in from northwest Mexico. This male Jaguar, nicknamed “El Jefe” by local schoolchildren, took up residence in good Jaguar habitat in the Santa Rita Mountains. Chris Bugbee, a researcher who has been tracking the movements of El Jefe since 2011, notes that the big cat can take big prey such as White-tailed Deer and Black Bear. However, as Bugbee follows “discreetly in the Jaguar’s footsteps… he often comes across the remains of luckless skunks. El Jefe eats everything except the rear end, which contains the noisome scent glands, and the fluffy tail.” Obviously, even big cats are quite content to subsist on smaller, slower animals.
So how prevalent are Mountain Lions in Texas? There have been unconfirmed sightings of this big cat in all 254 of our counties. However, based on mortality records (the most reliable method) Mountain Lions have been reported from only 67 Texas counties (TPWD, 1983-2005). Bee County is not among them.
Mountain Lion habitat is generally found in remote canyons, rimrock, and hilly areas with good cover. The adults are solitary except during mating season when a male and female may stay together for several days. Males maintain a territory of approximately 80 to 200 square miles. Females’ home ranges vary from 20 to 100 square miles and may overlap with the ranges of other females. Litters of two to three kittens are produced every other year. The kittens are born spotted and have blue eyes until they are around three months old. Kittens remain with their mother until they establish their own territories at about a year and a half of age. The average life span for Mountain Lions is about 10 to 11 years.
The Journal of Wildlife Biology (March 2012) published a study on two distinct Mountain Lion populations in Texas. The study areas were in West Texas (Big Bend Ranch State Park) and South Texas (private lands along the Nueces River). The West Texas site consisted of 1,210 square kilometers where hunting was not permitted as per State Park rules. On the 2,683 square kilometer South Texas site (between Cotulla, Tilden, Freer, and Encinal) hunting was unrestricted. Data were collected from 1992 to 1997. On the South Texas site, 19 Mountain Lions were captured using traps and tranquilizers, then radio-collared. Two litters of kittens were captured by hand (I bet that was fun!) On the West Texas site, 21 Mountain Lions were captured and collared. All the radio-collared animals’ movements were monitored.
From these data, Haveson et al (2012) determined the densities of the two populations to be 0.427 Mountain Lions per 100 square kilometers in West Texas and only 0.269 cats per 100 square kilometers in South Texas. Both population densities were lower than any other studied region elsewhere in the United States. Also, the South Texas population sex ratio was skewed heavily towards males (3 males for every female). Such a situation puts the population in jeopardy. The scientists concluded that “resource managers should consider evaluating regional, rather than statewide, management plans for Mountain Lions in Texas.” Additionally, the authors found that both urban and rural Texans support protection for the big cats in the form of a specified season with harvest limits.
I agree. It is time that Texas begin protecting and managing its most beautiful apex predator. After all, having wild animals, including predators, is what makes Texas special for all of us.
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