OutdoorNebraska

6 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission • Mountain Lions in Nebraska You have gathered trail camera photographs from the public through the years. How many have you received and how have those been helpful? Y p y h Q: The trail camera photos we receive from the public in particular are extremely helpful. We have more than 150 photos of mountain lions from trail cameras over the years. Some of the highlights have been the first photos of females with kittens since that's pretty much the ultimate proof of a resident population in each new area. I certainly want to encourage everyone out there to contact us if they get pictures of mountain lions. Addition contributors to this story include Cara Pesek and Scott Taylor. What action is the Game and Parks Commission taking to keep its mountain lion management strategies current? W C l Q: The Commission is working on a more geographically comprehensive approach for mountain lion management. As I mentioned, mountain lions move freely between Nebraska and neighboring western states, so we have worked closely with biologists from South Dakota and Wyoming to share information regarding mountain lion management and research. We will continue to work closely with biologists from those areas to make sure our management decisions fit within what is happening in the larger region. We are also beginning new research – including placing GPS collars on mountain lions – that will add to our knowledge of mountain lions in Nebraska. In 2014, permits to hunt mountain lions in Nebraska were issued for the first time. What does the Commission do with that money? I i W m Q: All money received from the sale of mountain lion hunting permits has been invested right back into research and management of mountain lions. This funds a portion of our mountain lion research as well as other work we do while managing mountain lions. also looked at data from South Dakota about harvest rates, birth rates and death rates, which was particularly helpful, as we know that populations in the Black Hills are well connected to those in Nebraska's Pine Ridge by immigrating individuals. This, coupled with population estimates from our Pine Ridge genetic surveys (see sidebar, page 3) and other data we collected gave us enough information to make a solid, science-based recommendation. That said, we also took public input into account, and in the end decided to maintain lion populations where they occurred in Nebraska, while slightly reducing their numbers. The inaugural season, held in 2014, was set for just one year so that we could adjust future regulations as necessary. In response to an unusual number of non-hunting mortalities that occurred in 2014, the decision was made to not hold a season during 2015. Decisions regarding whether to hold hunting seasons in the future will be made on an annual basis using a similar balance of population data and management objectives. Is Game and Parks continuing to research mountain lion populations in Nebraska? How so? I m H Q: Mountain lion populations have returned to Nebraska and the Game and Parks Commission is committed to learning all we can about this high profile species. This includes continuing investigations into observations of mountain lion presence by the public – which we have been documenting for more than 20 years. We recently initiated a large scale, multi-year research project aimed at determining population sizes, changes in distribution, movements, habitat use, and impacts on big game prey species. The majority of this information will be determined through capturing mountain lions and fitting them with global positioning system (GPS) collars. We will continue to estimate population sizes using genetic surveys, which we have been conducting since 2010. The third part of the newly planned research is to use systematically placed trail cameras to document expansion or contraction of populations in areas such as the Niobrara River Valley and Wildcat Hills. This research will take place over several years and will allow new insights into this otherwise secretive species. M ountain lion front tracks are 3 to 4-1/4 inches long and 3-1/4 to 4-3/4 inches wide. Claws usually do not register because they are retracted. Claw marks are usually (but not always) visible in coyote and dog tracks. The heel pad in cat tracks has two lobes in the front and three lobes in the back, while dog and coyote tracks show only one lobe in the front and two lobes in the back. The tracks from a small mountain lion and a large bobcat can be difficult to distinguish. In cats the toes are almost evenly spaced from the heel pad, while in dogs and coyotes, the separation from the middle two is greater. M t i li f t t k 3 t 4 Track Comparisons Mountain Lion Coyote Bobcat Domestic Dog

• Cover