🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This pioneering study in the Idaho Primitive Area provided the first rigorous picture of mountain lion predation on wild ungulates, based on years of tracking pumas in snow and examining kills. It doc…

Hornocker, M. G. · Wildlife Monographs · 1970

This study compared a canyon in Zion National Park, where heavy human visitation had driven cougars away, with a less-visited canyon where cougars remained. Where cougars were scarce, mule deer were f…

Ripple, W. J., Beschta, R. L. · Biological Conservation · 2006

Dispersal is central to puma ecology, with young males traveling long distances to establish ranges while females often settle nearer their natal areas. This overview synthesizes telemetry and genetic…

Pumas are mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, and they intensify their avoidance of humans in space and time where people are present. This overview synthesizes research showing that cougars concentrate…

Pumas typically kill prey larger than they can eat at once and cache carcasses to feed over several days. This overview synthesizes GPS-cluster and field studies showing how cougars drag and cover the…

Pumas are major predators of deer across the Americas, and their effect on prey populations has been long studied and debated. This overview synthesizes research on how cougars select vulnerable indiv…

By killing large prey and leaving partly eaten carcasses, pumas subsidize a wide community of scavengers and influence nutrient cycling. This overview synthesizes research showing that puma kills supp…

Pumas increasingly live near cities in parts of their range, navigating fragmented habitat threaded with roads and development. This overview synthesizes research, notably from California, on how coug…