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(The Hill) — Mountain lions in the greater Los Angeles area are consciously changing their activities to avoid contact with residents, a new study finds.
Big cats living in areas with high levels of human recreation may be more nocturnal than those living in more remote areas, where they tend to be active at dawn and dusk, researchers said Friday. According to research published in the journal Biological Conservation,
Although mountain lions prefer to avoid humans, the study authors noted that trafficking by human recreationalists also occurs in natural areas where cats and other wildlife live.
“People are increasingly enjoying recreation in nature, which is great,” said lead author Dr. Ellie Bolas. candidate for the University of California, Davis, said in a statement.
“This flexibility in mountain lion activity allows us to share these natural areas together, and mountain lions are working to make coexistence possible,” Bolas said. continued.
To determine whether and how lions have adapted to human activity, researchers studied 22 lions that inhabited the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas from 2011 to 2018. The movement of the big cat’s head was observed.
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They based these analyzes on data obtained from GPS and accelerometer collars attached to the lions by other biologists as part of another long-term study. At the same time, the authors tracked and quantified human recreation in the region using GPS databases that people chose to make public.
Researchers found that Griffith Park, a large municipal park north of Los Angeles, hosted the highest levels of recreational activity, while the Santa Susan Mountains and Los Padres National Forest had the least foot traffic. I discovered that.
The least nocturnal mountain lion was a female living in the west-central Santa Monica Mountains. Researchers observed that women were generally more active near sunrise and during the day than men. The authors hypothesized that this difference may be due to females’ instinct to avoid males that could endanger them and their kittens.
The most nocturnal lions were two males who lived in small, isolated areas with many walking trails, high levels of human recreation, and adjacent to high-density development and highways. Both of these cats lived in two of the narrowest ranges ever recorded for adult males.
The researchers concluded that the urban experiences of these two cats and others indicate that pumas tend to avoid humans rather than becoming too accustomed to them.
“These results are very important because they show how humans are impacting wildlife in ways that are less obvious than killing animals with cars,” said co-authors of the Santa Monica Mountains National Park. Seth Riley, the recreation area’s wildlife branch manager, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Professor Reilly highlighted the “remarkable fact that one of the world’s largest urban areas has a persistent population of large predatory cats.”
“If mountain lions couldn’t adapt to human activity in this way, it wouldn’t be possible,” he says.
Although these big cats are clearly adapted to humans, the study authors emphasized the need for humans to return the favor. People should be aware that dawn and dusk may be prime times for mountain lion activity and should take special care when driving at night as these felines may be on the prowl. Scientists have pointed out that there is.
“Even something as innocuous as recreation can increase other stressors that we’re introducing into their lives,” Bolas says. “But we can feel a sense of optimism that they are flexible in the timing of their activities. Coexistence is occurring, and that’s largely because of mountain lion activity.”
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