Ecology of Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) in the North Dakota Badlands: Population Dynamics and Prey Use

As a result of this recent reappearance of the species, no previous mountain lion research has been conducted in the region and thus, many characteristics of the population are unknown. From 2011‒2013, we studied mountain lions occupying the North Dakota Badlands (Figure 1) to document baseline population characteristics. Our objectives were to 1) estimate annual home range size of adult mountain lions, 2) 3 compare the effects of season and sex on home range size, 2) calculate overlap of adult male home ranges, 4) determine dispersal characteristics (e.g., age at dispersal, dispersal distance) of subadults, 5) estimate survival rates, and 6) quantify cause-specific mortality. Additionally, mountain lions represent the lone apex predator in the Badlands. This has led to questions on their potential impacts on prey populations. Thus, we studied mountain lion food habits within the region to answer the following 5 research questions: 1) what is the prey composition of mountain lion diets, 2) how many ungulates do mountain lions kill, 3) what effect does scavenging have on ungulate consumption rates, 4) what effect does season have on mountain lion feeding habits, and 5) what effect does demographic status have on mountain lion feeding habits?