Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Wildland Resources

Committee Chair(s)

Michael L. Wolfe

Committee

Michael L. Wolfe

Committee

Eric M. Gese

Committee

Kevin D. Bunnell

Abstract

Today’s ability to apply global positioning systems (GPS) collars to wild animals and track their movements, without inadvertently disrupting their daily routine, is a major benefit to wildlife research. Cougars are carnivorous predators that have been identified as being one of several possible causes for recent mule deer population declines throughout the Western United States. Past cougar predation studies have relied on snow tracking, radio-collar tracking, and modeling techniques to estimate cougar prey use and predation rates. These methods rely heavily on weather conditions, logistical availabilities, and broad assumptions, which have led to a wide range of predation rate estimates.

I studied cougar predation behavior in North-Central Utah, using GPS locational data collected from 2002-2010. Mule deer made up >80% of cougar kills, but a variety of species were found at kill sites. Female cougars with kittens made kills more frequently than did solitary females or males. There was no difference in the demographic structure of mule deer killed by cougars. Cougars preferentially used areas of thick, unburned vegetation to make kills and cache their prey.

This research provides wildlife managers with information concerning the interaction between cougars and their prey, while also providing supportive evidence that the use of prescribed burns, as a habitat manipulation tool, could potentially mitigate cougar predation on mule deer in areas of high predation and simultaneously benefit both cougars and mule deer.

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