Mountain lions

In black-tailed deer, Odocoikus hemionus columbianus, fecal odors of sympatric predators (coyote, C. latrans, and mountain lion, Fdis concolor) in vials next to food pellets inhibited feeding, while those of allopatric predators (lion, Fdis leo, snow leopard, Uncia uncia) do not, or very little (Miiller-Schwarze, 1972 Fig. 12.3). Note that mammals discriminate between the odors of sym- and allopatric predators, while fish and rattlesnakes do not (pp. 359 and 364). Free-ranging adult female wapiti, Cervus elaphus canadensis, respond to the odors of dog urine, and cougar and wolf feces (presented as water slurry) with increased heart rates. It was concluded that the main effect of predator odors may be for assessing the risk of predation (Chabot etal, 1996). 

In addition, the computer models assumed only 100 to 200 wolves in each of three recovery areas. The reality is that ESA mandates will require 1,500 to 2,000 wolves. Moreover, the models do not take into account additive predation by bears or mountain lions, also undergoing expansion as protected species. 

Looking west from the garden, past the old rows of olives, I see the sunlit blue-gray foothills of the inner coast range harboring some of the wildest land in California where mountain lions and bears still occasionally surprise visitors. Between our farm... 

Krumm CE, Conner MM, Hobbs NT et al (2010) Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer. Biol Lett 6 209-211... 

A camera trap captured this image of a mountain lion. Camera traps are a noninvasive way to study animals. 

Black bears, cats (including bobcats and mountain lions), coyotes, dogs, foxes, martens, raccoons, skunks, weasels, wolverines, wolves... 

I did the hike by my lonesome. The weather was gorgeous. I had no broken bones, twisted ankles, sprained knees or elbows. No snake bites. No encounters with bobcats or mountain lions. No fateful blunder. But honestly, I was foolhardy a 55-year-old suburban baby boomer imposing another age-defying test on myself. Would I do it again Not without a lot more foresight. Once pricked, twice shy. 

One hiker quickly discards her pack, removes her boots, and puts on her running shoes. What are you doing asks the second hiker. You can t outrun a mountain lion The first hiker responds, I don t have to outrun the lion -1 only have to outrun you. ... 

The reintroduction of predator species - wolves, bears, coyotes and even mountain lions - is significantly more controversial than bringing back the goose or the moose. Gray wolves roam the northern forests of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan s Upper Peninsula - all relatively remote and under-populated areas... 

Truly, sport hunters by and large prefer to not see these species reintroduced. Even though wolves were part of the natural ecosystem, there is a reasonable fear that predators will take deer and moose by the uncounted thousands. This fear has a self-serving edge, but it also coincides with the fear of suburbanites that coyotes will kill and eat their dogs and cats, and with the concern - quite rational as it turns out, based on the Yellowstone experience - that wolves will sometimes prey upon cows and sheep. So on the issue of predators, including reintroduction of panthers (mountain lions) in Florida or Pennsylvania, the way is unclear and the discussion is far from settled. 

After a while, my mind decided that I would like to climb a small mountain that looked down on this idyllic setting, but by now I was a sea lion, so it was difficult to get myself up and onto dry land. As I waded out, I felt awkward, silly, completely out of my element. 

When you have discovered the Mountain the first miracle that will appear is this A most vehement and very great wind that will shake the Mountain and shatter the rocks to pieces. You will be encountered also by lions and dragons and other terrible beasts but fear not any of these things. Be resolute and take heed that you turn not back, for your Guide - who brought you thither - will not suffer any evil to befall you. As for the treasure, it is not yet found, but it is very near. 

The varieties, moreover, have inside different dimensions long, broad, large, small, forked like coral, etc. Some have the shape of horns. I myself found a flint of this appearance along the Elbe. It was like the head of a serpent, having a serpent s mouth, fangs, eyes, and crown. I also found another like a fortified citadel with towers, and yet a third, which was like a mountain. Natural objects also make impressions on these stones in spite of their hardness. I came across a flint in the same place whereon appeared the impress of a wolf or lion in alto relievo on the surface, looking like the work of a skilled artist. Sometimes faces or limbs of other animals appear, also stars and letters are visible, so far is Nature from idleness. There are, moreover, opaque flints. 

Left another of the figures of Ahraham described hy Flamel has come to he called The Fair Flower on the Mountain. The red and white flowers stand for the red and white stages of the Great Work the dragons for sophic mercury, which the adepts identified with the "essence" of silver and the griffins, which were a comhination of lion and eagle, were interpreted as both the fixed and the volatile. 

McBride, E.F. (1988) Contrasting diagenetic histories of concretions and host rock. Lion Mountain Sandstone... 

They are seas [of generosity], but for the Persian kings they are men like lions of the forests you would think they were mountains. 

Response to food can be used as an indirect measure of prey response to predator scents. Stimuli can be placed either directly on the food or in close proximity to the food. For example, choice-tests were used to assess the avoidance of lion fecal odors by rabbits (Boag Mlotkiewicz 1994) and deer (Abbot et al. 1990). In both cases, subjects were offered a choice between treated and untreated pelleted food and relative intake was taken to reflect avoidance. Likewise, arena tests have been used to demonstrate that domestic livestock will investigate but reduce their ingestion of feed in the presence of predator odors (Pfister et al. 1990). Odors also can be applied to natural forage to assess whether target species avoid the treated plants (Sullivan et al. 1988 Calder Gorman 1991). Epple et al. (1995) monitored caching behavior to assess the response of mountain beaver to food resources associated with predator odors. 

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