Cougar population on the rise

[adriaticum]

KAMLOOPS - The number of cougars killed in B.C. in 2013 jumped dramatically, compared to the year earlier.
The Conservation Service has released figures showing 117 were destroyed between March 2013 and March of this year.
That's a 33 per cent leap over the 78 cougars put down by the service in 2012 and early 2013.
Kamloops conservation officer Kevin Van Damme says there have been more conflicts between humans and cougars as populations of the big cats climb across the province.
He speculates it may be due to recent forest fires that brought down trees, creating more open spaces and grasslands, leading to an increase in deer and moose, and a corresponding jump in the number of predators.
According to the Conservation Service, there were 3,120 cougar sightings in 2013, up roughly 10 per cent in one year. (CHNL)

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Cougars+killed+increased+cent+2013/10150397/story.html#ixzz3BWfnJUDZ

[Rob Chipman]

Wow! Didn't I hear someone say on another thread that controlled burns are good for animal populations? More evidence from a different source.

[adriaticum]

Would love to get my hands on one

[deadlyshot19]

Controlled burns have been proven to help more than just the wild life, a lot of new growth comes through after all the tree cover is gone. New types of plants and plants that haven't been found here in years are now growing in these areas.. I still don't recommend throwing your butt out the window when its +40 though..

[HarryToolips]

Wow! Didn't I hear someone say on another thread that controlled burns are good for animal populations? More evidence from a different source.

You heard right....

[one-shot-wonder]

Cougar population is no doubt on the rise, I figure it is due to less houndsman participating than in the past due to many ungulate winter ranges now being residential neighbourhoods. Also with the lack of snow in recent years and the increased price of fuel, things are stacking up against the resident cougar hunter. Not surprised the cougar harvest has dropped over the years.

Urban/Interface deer populations on the rise will also increase the frequency of cougar/human conflicts......

With buddies having many run ins with cougars in last couple years and more cats then ever on the trail cams, this fall might be my first time buying a tag.

[Sofa King]

wait, so they just announce that the pops have increased because they've killed more this year than last?
and sighting reports have increased?
that's speculation and guessing at best, without actual counted #'s(which is impossible) they have no idea where the population is at.

[Rob Chipman]

Sofa King:

You're right, the guy in the article is speculating, but we could probably spin that as a well educated guess if we wanted to be generous. The idea is "we kill more cougars because there are more human-cougar interactions, therefore there are probably more cougars, and that's probably because of more prey, which is due to more burns leading to more food for prey animals".

There are some leaps there. There could be more cougars being killed because human development is encroaching on range more, or more being killed because the COs responding are better shots. Also, if the reason there are more cougars is because there are more deer and moose then we should have heard about that in other discussions.

So, you make a good point.

We've heard talk in other threads about raising money to uphold hunter's rights, but when we talk about management and enhancement we always run into the idea that we don't really know what the real numbers are, and the the government under funds and will continue to underfund conservation.

I wonder what it costs to employ someone to get that info. We need it and our tax dollars don't seem to be gathering it too well. Seems like hard numbers are the obvious missing piece.

[Sofa King]

agree.
but really there is no realistic way for them to obtain true #'s of any wild populations of any animals or fish.
the best they can do is a very vague, rough guesstimate.
what sucks though, is that our quotas and seasons are based off those.

[caddisguy]

There's a lot of stinky cat crap around my hunting spots. Last year one came to check out us while we were crouched down rattling in some old growth timber. This year we got one on the trailcam first week it was out... it wasn't even taking night footage (dang thing malfunctioning) ... interesting clip though, the cat is sniffing exactly where the doe was bedding. Cool critters for sure, I just don't want them in my spots ;-P


http://youtu.be/X9bLzAx9e8M

[Darksith]

Would love to get my hands on one

a controlled burn or a cristy clark?

[Darksith]

Controlled burns have been proven to help more than just the wild life, a lot of new growth comes through after all the tree cover is gone. New types of plants and plants that haven't been found here in years are now growing in these areas.. I still don't recommend throwing your butt out the window when its +40 though..

an old growth forest doesn't suite the needs of large animals. Generally speaking our big game live in newer growth forests. Banff national park is a prime example of this. They have been fighting fires there for a long time, but people flock to see animals and nature. They realized that due to their fire protection efforts, they were in turn losing animals due to them moving out of the park in search of more ideal habitat. Banff is now doing controlled burns on their older old growth forests to reset the clock essentially and create more ideal habitat. I was lucky enough to be apart of burning the side of a mountain off 13 years ago, and still have friends that work for parks there who continue to do burns.

[adriaticum]

a controlled burn or a cristy clark?

Cougar, I'll live CC to ruger#1

[deadlyshot19]

an old growth forest doesn't suite the needs of large animals. Generally speaking our big game live in newer growth forests. Banff national park is a prime example of this. They have been fighting fires there for a long time, but people flock to see animals and nature. They realized that due to their fire protection efforts, they were in turn losing animals due to them moving out of the park in search of more ideal habitat. Banff is now doing controlled burns on their older old growth forests to reset the clock essentially and create more ideal habitat. I was lucky enough to be apart of burning the side of a mountain off 13 years ago, and still have friends that work for parks there who continue to do burns.

That would be a neat thing to be apart of!

[adriaticum]

an old growth forest doesn't suite the needs of large animals. Generally speaking our big game live in newer growth forests. Banff national park is a prime example of this. They have been fighting fires there for a long time, but people flock to see animals and nature. They realized that due to their fire protection efforts, they were in turn losing animals due to them moving out of the park in search of more ideal habitat. Banff is now doing controlled burns on their older old growth forests to reset the clock essentially and create more ideal habitat. I was lucky enough to be apart of burning the side of a mountain off 13 years ago, and still have friends that work for parks there who continue to do burns.

Since when did you become so smart?

[Fisher-Dude]

Anecdotal evidence from long time houndsmen I've spoken with in the Okanagan has been "Never seen so many cats!"

Cats are territorial, and the influx of cats into areas they would normally avoid (ie human inhabited areas) is strongly indicative of the "good spots" already being occupied by a dominant cat. Hunger drives cats with no territory into your backyard.

Conflict increases are a great indicator of population increases, and if you've ever thought about cat hunting, now would be the best time to do it.

[Amphibious]

Seeing more and more Cougars on my trailcams on the Westside (up behind Fintry). A few days back we had a large tom cross the runway in squamish while a student pilot was trying to land. the dialog on the radio was priceless :)

[Bugle M In]

Had one come in on me last year in EK while elk hunting.
Stopped at 10 ft and had a staring competition with it for almost 2 minutes.
Wonder what it was contemplating???
only took off when I called to my hunting partner to bring the camera.
Completely silent not only walking up to me, but also when it took off, total stealth!
Only saw him 5 ft before he stopped.
Can only imagine if my eyes had been shut, as it was almost noon when it happened.
Beautiful animal for sure, awesome colours on them.
Just surprised he didn't take off first sight of me!!

[Rob Chipman]

FD wrote:

"Cats are territorial, and the influx of cats into areas they would normally avoid (ie human inhabited areas) is strongly indicative of the "good spots" already being occupied by a dominant cat. Hunger drives cats with no territory into your backyard."

A version of this explanation is always made when a cougar gets killed around the Lower Mainland. Typically young or quite old, and there's always speculation that they were pushed out of safer/better areas.

I've seen more bobcats and Lynx as well, both on trail cams and recently the same cat twice on the road FSR between Canim Lake and HWY 24. Middle of the day, just walking around without a care in the world.

[Fella]

I'm buying a tag on the off chance I see one. Would love to have a rug!

[Fisher-Dude]

I've seen more bobcats and Lynx as well, both on trail cams and recently the same cat twice on the road FSR between Canim Lake and HWY 24. Middle of the day, just walking around without a care in the world.

It's just a big pussy party out there! :D

We've seen more lynx too - saw a 3-pack while hunting whitetails last year, all adults.

I'm wondering if the new "family group" restriction has decreased lynx harvest, as I've found them to be more social than cougars and often in pairs or more. Buddy watched a pair hunt an old road, one would slowly walk the road while the other zig-zagged into the regen on either side, presumably to flush out rabbits onto the road. A cool experience for him, at any rate.

[horshur]

Anecdotal evidence from long time houndsmen I've spoken with in the Okanagan has been "Never seen so many cats!"

Cats are territorial, and the influx of cats into areas they would normally avoid (ie human inhabited areas) is strongly indicative of the "good spots" already being occupied by a dominant cat. Hunger drives cats with no territory into your backyard.

Conflict increases are a great indicator of population increases, and if you've ever thought about cat hunting, now would be the best time to do it.

this is contrary to the science Goat has posted in the past...

[horshur]

It's just a big pussy party out there! :D

We've seen more lynx too - saw a 3-pack while hunting whitetails last year, all adults.

I'm wondering if the new "family group" restriction has decreased lynx harvest, as I've found them to be more social than cougars and often in pairs or more. Buddy watched a pair hunt an old road, one would slowly walk the road while the other zig-zagged into the regen on either side, presumably to flush out rabbits onto the road. A cool experience for him, at any rate.

hare are up ......which also contributes to sub cougars making it when they otherwise would not.

[HarryToolips]

an old growth forest doesn't suite the needs of large animals. Generally speaking our big game live in newer growth forests. Banff national park is a prime example of this. They have been fighting fires there for a long time, but people flock to see animals and nature. They realized that due to their fire protection efforts, they were in turn losing animals due to them moving out of the park in search of more ideal habitat. Banff is now doing controlled burns on their older old growth forests to reset the clock essentially and create more ideal habitat. I was lucky enough to be apart of burning the side of a mountain off 13 years ago, and still have friends that work for parks there who continue to do burns.

Not always, some old growth is too thick for them to occupy for the most part yes, but there are many types of old-growth forest where I have seen sign and animals galore...the stuff that's got a bit more space to it, retains the water well do to more shade thus less evapotranspiration...good water, cover, food and away from the roads, tonnes of sign of them loving these areas...

[adriaticum]

Cougar attacked girl

http://ww2.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/27/cougar-destroyed-in-alberta-park-after-attack-on-teenage-girl

[Darksith]

Not always, some old growth is too thick for them to occupy for the most part yes, but there are many types of old-growth forest where I have seen sign and animals galore...the stuff that's got a bit more space to it, retains the water well do to more shade thus less evapotranspiration...good water, cover, food and away from the roads, tonnes of sign of them loving these areas...

generally speaking there is no such thing as thick old growth. Old growth forests have a large tall canopy which shade out the forest floor, which prevents the natural food sources from growing, which causes the animals to leave. You might think they are old growth areas you are searching, but they might not be. The trees are well spaced because they have weeded each other out, there is lots of room to walk. Now that being said if you have fresh or younger forests close to old growth then the animals will most certainly travel through and catch shade there, but I am talking about large tracks of untouched forest (banff) with no feeding areas close by.

If you see thick stuff thats not old growth. The mountain ash/birch/deciduous trees are only found in young forest ecosystems in BC, and are not a part of old growth habitats in BC generally speaking. They eventually once they build up enough fertile soil get pushed/shaded out by the coniferous trees that blanket our province. This cycle can take hundreds or a few thousand years. Granted some areas never reach old growth state for numerous reasons.

[Sofa King]

a girl I know saw a HUUUGE cougar yesterday morning on her way in to work.
she lives fairly out in the country, and she was amazed at it's size.

[caddisguy]

Cougars have more muscle and take bigger stinkier poops than me, so I respect them. I just don't want them hunting my deer in my spots.

[HarryToolips]

generally speaking there is no such thing as thick old growth. Old growth forests have a large tall canopy which shade out the forest floor, which prevents the natural food sources from growing, which causes the animals to leave. You might think they are old growth areas you are searching, but they might not be. The trees are well spaced because they have weeded each other out, there is lots of room to walk. Now that being said if you have fresh or younger forests close to old growth then the animals will most certainly travel through and catch shade there, but I am talking about large tracks of untouched forest (banff) with no feeding areas close by.

If you see thick stuff thats not old growth. The mountain ash/birch/deciduous trees are only found in young forest ecosystems in BC, and are not a part of old growth habitats in BC generally speaking. They eventually once they build up enough fertile soil get pushed/shaded out by the coniferous trees that blanket our province. This cycle can take hundreds or a few thousand years. Granted some areas never reach old growth state for numerous reasons.

Sounds right, gotta love learnin sumpin new every day...ya alot of these forests that I'm refering to have never been logged, no stumps, but maybe their 'younger' old growth like your refering to..

[coug]

wait, so they just announce that the pops have increased because they've killed more this year than last?
and sighting reports have increased?
that's speculation and guessing at best, without actual counted #'s(which is impossible) they have no idea where the population is at.

+1

More sightings may be due to more people going into their habitat, seeing the same cougar over and over again or all kinds of other factors. Killing more cougars may be due to development in cougar inhabited areas that is 50% higher than the year before.

[Fisher-Dude]

+1

More sightings may be due to more people going into their habitat, seeing the same cougar over and over again or all kinds of other factors. Killing more cougars may be due to development in cougar inhabited areas that is 50% higher than the year before.


Rather doubtful that development in interface areas has increased by 50% in one year. How about 1 - 2%, as we come out of the worst recession in 85 years?

[houndogger]

Ya cat hunting is good I hear.

[BlacktailStalker]

A contributing factor to this is also more hunters with hounds are killing more females, leaving young forced to turn to rural areas to try and survive because of starvation.
Killing a big tom also increases local populations, they hold an area as large as three young toms would hold once gone... There is a science to it all.

[Ourea]

A contributing factor to this is also more hunters with hounds are killing more females, leaving young forced to turn to rural areas to try and survive because of starvation.
Killing a big tom also increases local populations, they hold an area as large as three young toms would hold once gone... There is a science to it all.

Good insight BlacktailStalker.
Cant help but notice ur Avatar has been updated though.......