Aligning mountain lion hunting seasons to mitigate orphaning dependent kittens

Abstract

ABSTRACTHunting results in direct numerical effects and numerous indirect effects on game species. One indirect effect occurs when a female is killed; and as a consequence, her dependent offspring die, negatively affecting recruitment rates. The mountain lion (Puma concolor) is a hunted species across much of its range. It is almost always illegal to harvest a female with dependent young; however, females frequently travel separately from their kittens, and the occasional unintentional harvest of females with dependent young is unavoidable. We studied the denning periods for female mountain lions in northwest Wyoming, USA, from June 2001 to December 2016, but more intensively between January 2013 and December 2016 with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. During the intensive period, we measured the amount of time females spent away from the den, distance and time females traveled during each foraging trip, and distance traveled during the entire denning period. We also compared the timing of dens with mountain lion hunting seasons. We recorded parturition dates between 6 June and 4 November. On average, females utilized 4.2 ± 0.5 (SE) dens/denning period, with denning periods persisting 45.8 ± 2.6 (SE) days. The average total distance traveled by females during their 6‐week denning period was 154 km (±18.8 km). On average, females were closest or most likely to be with their kittens at 1600, and furthest from den sites at 0200 and 0600. Utilizing our mean denning period of 46 days, delaying mountain lion hunting until 1 November would avoid the denning period for 85% of dens, and delaying until 1 December would avoid 91% (n = 31). Our research provides information to guide managers in aligning hunting seasons to mitigate orphaning kittens when they are youngest and most vulnerable, and provide hunters the best opportunities to detect and protect dependent young. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.