HINTS ON
MOUNTAIN-LION
TRAPPING

Issued April, 1933

HINTS ON MOUNTAIN-LION TRAPPING

By Stanley P. Young, Principal Biologist, in Charge, Division of Predatory Animal and Rodent Control, Bureau of Biological Survey

THE AMERICAN MOUNTAIN-LION (Felis concolor) is one of the largest predatory animals of the United States, sometimes weighing more than 200 pounds. Game conservationists recognize it as the greatest natural enemy of deer. Stockmen learn to their sorrow that when game is scarce the mountain-lion attacks young domestic stock, particularly colts, lambs, and kids, and even full-grown horses and cattle. In some western areas it is practically impossible to raise young colts or sheep on open stock ranges in the rough, rocky, and broken country that forms an ideal habitat for the mountain-lion.

The range of the mountain-lion, which is known also as cougar, panther, puma, and catamount, includes at present the large wilderness areas of the United States west of the one hundredth meridian. The heaviest infestation is in the Rocky Mountain States and southward through the desert mountain ranges of Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Farther westward mountain-lions are much less numerous, except in the coastal ranges of California, Oregon, and Washington, where they are somewhat abundant.

For the protection of domestic livestock and of large game in certain areas it is necessary to keep mountain-lions well under control. In spite of control measures, however, these predators will probably long continue to exist in the United States. There are many areas where normal hunting and the vicissitudes of the wild can be depended upon to keep their numbers within reasonable limits. There are also great stretches of wilderness areas that probably will never be touched by any mountain-lion-control campaigns.

This leaflet, intended to help stockmen and game protectors in local control of mountain-lions, is based on the experience of Biological Survey predatory-animal hunters. A similar publication (Leaflet No. 78) discusses control measures for such smaller members of the wild-cat family as the bobcat and the Canada lynx.

Natural Food and Feeding Habits of the Mountain Lion

Mountain lions find most of their prey near the rougher and more inaccessible canyons, and in such places they live and breed with least disturbance. One of the most striking things about these animals is the distance to which they will go for food. Many have been known to travel 25 miles or more in a night, apparently without resting for any appreciable length of time. Because of their remarkable endurance, hunting them takes stamina and strength. Biological Survey hunters on the fresh track of a mountain-lion have trailed the animal for 10 consecutive hours or longer before treeing it.

Like the bobcat, the mountain-lion relies upon its senses of smell and