Mountain Lion
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The mountain lion, or cougar, occurs only in the western hemisphere and has one of the most extensive ranges of any land mammal, from the Straights of Magellan in South America to the Canadian Yukon. The major reduction in mountain lion distribution has come as a result of its extirpation from areas of historic range in the eastern United States and Canada. In Arizona mountain lions are absent only from the extremely arid southwestern portions of the state and those areas heavily impacted by human development. In general, the distribution of mountain lions in Arizona corresponds with the distribution of its major prey species, deer.
Mountain lions may breed at any time of the year and consequently litters may be born in any month. Summer is the peak period of kitten births, with litter sizes of two, three, or four being the most common. Young remain with the mother for 15 to 22 months learning the skills necessary for survival. Juvenile males tend to disperse long distances compared to relatively short dispersals for juvenile females. Mountain lions are essentially solitary animals. Adult females may be accompanied by kittens, but are normally not associated with other adult animals except for mating purposes.
Deer, both whitetail and mule, are the principal mountain lion prey species in Arizona. In some areas javelina and/or livestock can be major components of mountain lion diet. Mountain lions will almost always attempt to cover the uneaten portion of a kill with leaves or other debris. An entire deer can be consumed in two nights. A conscientious observer is usually able to detect the presence of mountain lion in an area through the presence of tracks, scrapes, kills, or other sign.
Lions were classified as a "predatory animal" by the territorial legislature and were subject to a statewide bounty of $50 dollars in 1919. This status continued until 1970 when the mountain lion was classified as a big-game animal and a tag was required to take one, even though ranchers and their agents could still take a depredating lion. A mandatory checkout procedure and other reporting requirements were instituted in 1982. Reporting information indicates that lion harvests have gradually increased over time. Recently, the annual kill has ranged between 250 and 350 animals, of which approximately 15 percent were taken by predator control agents.
Mountain lions are very specialized top predators and consequently do not normally exist in high concentrations. Mountain lions maintain spatial separation between each other, thereby assuring that each individual has the resources necessary to survive. If these separations are not maintained, mountain lions will kill each other, which is the normal method of population regulation in undisturbed mountain lion populations. The cryptic system of boundary marking employed by resident mountain lions serves to provide for mutual avoidance and survival. Mountain lions kill large prey species with regularity, usually one deer-sized animal is killed every six to 12 days. Considerable skill executing stalks and more importantly consummating the kill is required to avoid debilitating injury.
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