the university of new mexico bulletin...mr. stokley ligon, and dr. john d. clark. the whole fabric...
TRANSCRIPT
December 15, 1937THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO BULLETIN
By
FRANK C. HIBBEN
Price 50c
•A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE
MOUNTAIN LION(FELIS OREGONENSIS sp.)
The University of New MexicoBulletin
Biological Series. Vol. 5, No, 3
Published monthly in January. March. May, July, September, and November, andsemi-monthly in February. April, June, August, October, and December
h}1' ·the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Entered as Second Class Matter, May 1, 1906. at the post office at Albuquerque,New Mexico, under Act of Congress July 16, 1894
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS
1937
Whole Number 318
, !
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The survey of the mountain lion could not have beencarried on without the aid of several agencies and men. Thecommittee of the Southwestern Conservation League wasinstrumental in instigating the investigation. This committee is made up of Dr. E. F. Castetter, Judge C. M. Botts,Mr. Arthur N. Pack, Mr. Elliott Barker, Dr. Fred W. Allen,Mr. Stokley Ligon, and Dr. John D. Clark.
The whole fabric of the New Mexico Game Departmentunder the leadership of Elliott Barker was placed at thedisposal of the lion survey.
The Biological Survey in New Mexico and Arizona lentits invaluable aid under the leadership of Mr. Don Gilchrist. Mr. Ben Foster and Mr. John Gatlin, also of theBiological Survey, aided with their resources and kindlysuggestions. Dr. Walter P. Taylor, the examining biologist'
'for the Biological Survey, was ever an inspiration and apractical helper of the man in the field.
The friendly and total co-operation of the lion huntersthemselves, Mr. Homer Pickens, Mr. Frank Colcord, Mr.Giles Goswick, and Mr. 'Emmett Bannerman, cannot beoverestimated.
Mr. Edward Preble, as well as members of the committee, gave many valuable suggestions and corrections in thereading of the manuscript.
[ 3 ]
":1 1
, ',':;:I,
ii'
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Procedure
The Lion as Game _
Lion Relations with Human Beings _
Lion Country-Habitat _
Movements and Migrations _
The Lion Scream _
The Scrape _
Mating
The Lion Den or Lair __
The Kill
Report of the Investigation on Deer
Scatology _
Foods of the Lion in the Southwest _
Bibliography
Page
5"
7
9
12
"15
17
20
23
28
32
35
37
48
52
59
INTRODUCTION
During one year's time, from October, 1934, and extending over into September, 1935, an investigator was placedin the field to make a special study of the mountain lion.The agency which was so interested was the SouthwesternConservation League, which had received Iunds from privatesources for the purpose of the investigation. The scientificaspects of the project were carried on under the auspicesof the biology department of the University of New Mexico.The New Mexico Game Department and the United StatesBiological Survey also helped and fostered the investigation.by supplying the means, through their separate agencies, bywhich the investigator could come in contact with the lions.
The ground to be covered was necessarily limited to acomparatively small area, because of limitations both oftime and of finances. The area covered was originally in.:tended to be the complete Southwest, i. e., New Mexico,Arizona, southern California, and western Texas. It becameevident immediately that even this area was too large to becovered in the space of a year; therefore, only New Mexicoand Arizona were studied.
It has long been felt by increasipg numbers of naturalists, foresters, stockm"en, and woodsmen in general that verylittle actually was known about certain phases of our wildlife. This applied especially to the class of the predatorswhich had been hunted relentlessly since the coming ofthe white man and a knowledge of whose life history waspurely incidental to their elimination. The mountain lion,being the largest of these, and perhaps also the most pictur-
.esque, was singled out first for study. It must be emphasizedat this point that this study was to arrive at no definite conelusions; was to work towards the establishing of no definitepreconceived theories. Facts only were to be gathered andpresented for anyone's conclusion. Also, it must be emphasized that but a scattering of these facts could" be obtained in a year. All facts pertinent to the life history of
[ 5 ]
i:1 'ilil)' I,,'i"i. "',., I" '\'
,II' ,:, '
i I"
I ~ I
!1:1 I
, "
the mountain lion, which came to notice, were, collected a dduly tabulated. n
Another ~act which l~nt impetus to this investigationwas ~he growmg alarm, eIther real or imagined, over thescarcIty of lions. It was felt that the lion was in dangf t' t' . ero ex mc IOn .m seve~al areas of his former range. The
number of. lIons WhICh the modern hunter 'encounteredwas alarmmgly small compared to that reported two' orthree decades ago.,. It seemed best to take up the study ofthe cougar first whIle ~here were still sufficient numbers ofthem to supply materIal for a report. Even though there~ay be some truth to the contention that the number oflIons is now alarmingly small, there seems to be no immediate danger of their extinction. Their range is so great overboth North and So~th America that it probably will be manyyea~s before they will even grow scarce over all this vastte~rItory. It must be said" however, that in certain mountam ~anges of New Mexico and Arizona the lion is now avery mfrequent visitor, so that the writer had difficulty inseveral of the areas in finding enough lions to make even ~'
casu~l ob~ervation; although many a lion track which yieldedno hon ~Ill for ~he paid hunter nevertheless gave a 'greatdeal of mformatlOn to ,the investigator under the guidanceof the trained noses of the hounds. '
'Can the lion and, domestic animals be reconciled,?Does the situation vary with the place, with the season?These and a hundred other questions are being passed~round at game meetings, at forestry associations; and thelIke. Whatever the merits of the question, the attitude is atleast stimulating, and a year's study of this interesting animal has certainly brought out the need for accurate information.
. The mountain lion has long been known by many andvarIOUS names-.:.cougar, painter, panther, catamount, pumaand a gr~at many other local variations. Theseappelationsare practIcally synonymous, for there is only the one speciesthroughout the whole of the cougars' range. These nameswill be used interchangeably in the text.
1('1 I
,', I
, i:1
6 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
A PreliminaryStudy of the Mountain Lion(Felis Oregonensis sp'.)
PROCEDURE
Necessarily, it was impossible for an investigatortrained in general field methods to go into the area andimmediately assume the duties of a practiced lion hunter.
, The mainstay of lion hunting being, of course, well-trainedhounds, this investigation depended entirely upon the packsof the State Game Department and of the Biological Survey.By the gracious courtesy of these agencies the field naturalistwas allowed to accompany the professional lion hunters ontheir hunts. The lion dogs used in these expeditions werespecially bred and trained for lions, and are the best thatcan be obtained anywhere in the United States. Thesedogs and their abilities are valued at many hundreds ofdollars apiece. Not a little information, also, was gleaned'rom the stories as told by the hunters themselves. In all,his hunting, of course, the investigator had to gather hismaterial while on the lion's trail, it being the business ofthe professional hunters to kill the lion.
Many camps were made in widely separated areas andin all the different life zones where lions might be found.The accompanying map (Page 8) indicates the collecting.stations and the approximate areas covered during thesurvey.' It is felt that the regions covered are fairly representative of the Southwest.
In New Mexico, the able hunters, Homer Pickens andEmmett Bannerman, the former of the New Mexico GameDepartment and the latter of the Biological Survey, allowedthe writer to accompany them. In Arizona, the survey wasconducted with Frank Colcord and Giles Goswick, both'old-time lion hunters and both of the Biological Survey.Many side trips 'were taken also to trace (lown' some lion
[ 7 ]
The possibility of the lion's becoming exclusively a gameanimal is still remote, but it has already been proposed by anumber of sportsmen. The only practical way to catch alion is by trailing him with trained dogs until he takes to atree or comes to bay in the rocks. This chase with the dogsmay amount to twenty~five miles, seldom farther, often but
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION . [ 9
THE LION AS GAME
story or to interview some rancher who had a reputation. for "knowing lions."
All the lion stomachs which could be secured werebrought back to the laboratory at the University of NewMexico and there subjected to analysis for hair containedand a microscopic examination for bone fragments, claws,hooves, etc. The dung specimens were packed in envelopesduly labeled and dated and brought back to the laboratory.Notes were recorded daily of all finds made or informationgathered.
In New Mexico; as in Ariz~ma, it is the stock interestsas well as the game associations which are the most concerned with the mountain lion. These people are, consequently, the most interested and the greatest source of information. The stock associations are concerned at almostevery meeting with the menace of the lion on their ranges.The Biological Survey and the Game Department are hardput to it to keep up with their demands. In this respect, agreat many of these requests for lion hunting were investigated as a part of this project. Thirty-two such lion reports were surveyed. Thirty were false; in the other two,we caught the lions.
A glance at the food tables at the end of this report willshow that cattle and sheep form a much smaller percentageof lion diet than has hitherto been credited. Stockmen are·prone to attribute all their losses to lions. It is most logicalto suppose, and may be easily demonstrated, that there' aremany forces, other than the lion, operating against cattlein the mountains.
"~•"-<2~
E.>;0
"""-<~0
'"'fl"·<i":3"
"C~~'fl
b<
~"•~()
·:;;":a
i};:ID
~ (()
----
.0,a
"IIL _I
a few miles. There is all the excitement of an old Englishfox hunt in the chase, with the thriII of a big-game hunt atthe end. Its fascination is attested to by the growing numbers of hunters who are taking up this sport. The presenceof big game in a state is a great attraction for foreignrevenue in more ways than one. There are certain section~
of the world which derive a very good income from thissource. The game departments of the Southwest, and thestates as a whole, would do well to look into this aspect ofthe situation. If the lion could become a decided asset instead of a liability, and still be controlled, it would constitute a decided advance in wild life management. At thesame time, all parties concerned would be satisfied whichis not, at present. the case, and a source of revenu~ wouldbe added to the state. At the same time, perhaps the view~point of the actual inhabitants could be shifted from the destructive angle to a more constructive and factual side.Then, too, those (and the group is larger than might besupposed) who wish the mountain lion to persist for purelyromantic and sentimental reasons would be appeased if itwere known that the species would continue. However agreat deal of information will have to be collected ;nddigested before any such great change in biological relation~ should take place. Further research may prove conclUSIvely that, such a change of front is economically im-possible. '
Ever since the white man peopled the United Stateswith a population which, by its number, forced a, bio- II
100fgoicu~1 gCOhange, thtat CNhatnge has been one of the problemsl~'.. r vernmen.: a ure set up a perfect cycle of exist- 1
ence with checks and counterchecks, but as soon as the tln~mbers of men increased to several, persons to the square IImIle, man upset that perfect balance. The system of bal- >
ances and check-balances seemed to have gone awry andceased to function. The national government and the stategovernments, in their turn, tried to' regain, that balance'by throwing their weight now here, now there, to maintain
10 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO . PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [11
the cycle. This control usually took the form of killing offsome one member of the cycle to benefit another member orto benefit man himself. This artificial nature balance hashad some good and some bad effects. Its main outcomeseems to be continuance; that is, now that it is started, itmust be continued,' and not only continued but increased.Nature, in the absence of modern human cul~ure, seemed tohave a very easy time of it. As far as this problem is concerned, where the d'eer were too numerous, they were preyedupon by ever-increasing numbers of lions and other predators. If the deer population diminished, so also did thelions, by starvation and other natural means. But theadvent of man changed all that. Man, as a part of nature,became all of nature. It has been argued by some that, asfar as the lion is concerned, he should be let alone to fulfillhis part in nature. This view does not face the issue. Nordoes the opposite view which argues that, if the lion weredestroyed, the nature cycle would again be perfect. Someenthusiasts claim that, at least in national parks and suchplaces, the round of nature may be left intact. Will suchislands of nature have any influence on the surroundingcountry, either good or bad? Can a semblance of the naturebalance be kept throughout all national forests, in all wildcountry? This is the real question. The facts gatheredthrough this investigation (and that only after severalmore years of research) may lead to some conclusions. Thisproblem is with the lion, but, in reality, its aspects lead intoall other fields of wild life research and nature ecology.Ecology is really a newcomer in the scientific field, but animportant addition. No one part or member of nature maybe studied or killed off or controlled without taking intoaccount those surrounding and relative parts of the biological world. In other words, before we can kill off thelion or let him go his way, or declare him a game animal,we should know exactly what his relations are to other gameanimals and domestic animals under all conditions in all
. places.
L Three additional porcupine kills were found on the trail of this lion besidesthose noted in the food table.
LION RELATIONS WITH HUMAN BEINGS
In line with the fantasy and legend of the lion as akiller, is his attitude towards human beings. The lionstrikes terror to the average heart, even among those whodwell in the mountains and ought to know better~. Themountain lion under any or all of his .various namescatamount, panther, cougar-has ever been a coward andshuns people as he shuns nothing else in' the natural world.For this reason' the lion is very rarely seen, except infront of dogs; Just why people are so afraid of the lion it
is impossible to say. It is probably a hangover from theAfrican idea. Even the African lion, which is a true cat,will stay clear of man unless provoked, and much prefersany other kind of flesh to his.
The mountain lion will, on certain very rare occasions,attack human beings, usually under stress of acute starvation or extreme old age. There is the case of the small childin British. Columbia who was attacked and killed by astarving mountain lion.2 Even though gaunt with hunger,the lion did not eat a great deal, which is a commentary onthe delectability of human flesh. Indeed, in practically allcases' of persons being killed by bears or lions of any kind,they were very seldom consumed.3 In most authentic casesof lions turning upon persons, it is children who are attacked,and then when they are alone, which is another indicationof the cowardice. of the cougar. However, when cases ofthis kind actually are traced to their sources, they usuallyare found to. be mere newspaper tales..
There are no statistics on the actual number of deathsby lions which have taken place in the United States. It isprobably well under a dozen, which is a figure so insignificant as to be out of all proportion to existing belief.
There are numerous 'instances of lions following closebehind some traveler in· the mountains or hiker in thewoods.+ The general form of the story goes that the woodsman felt the presence of something following him, and,turning suddenly around, saw a cougar stalking after .him.Or it may be that the hunter, tt;lrning on his own tracks inthe snow, found, the tracks i of a lion following his. Afterweeding out the us~al number of tall stories and exaggerations, there are still a goodly number of authentic caseswhere lions stalked after people, or simply followed them.It is extreme~y doubtful if in any case the lion meant harm
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [13
,,,-
2. See cases of "attacks on humans in Seton. Ernest Thompson, Lives of GameAnimals. vol. I. pt. 1. 1929, pp. 118-126.
3~ The author has been unable to find a single case of attacks on humans inwhich the flesh was actually eaten.
4. Mills. Enos A., Watched by Wild Animals, 1932, p. 199.
fi
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO12 ]
There is an aspect to the game situation which does notseem to have been given attention. This is, perhaps, thatindividual lions may have given the whole species a badname. This has been found quite true of bear, both blackand grizzly. Lions are just as individual. There is onlyneed to glance at the pictures of several' lions to find markeddifferences in appearance; The differences in behavior arequite as remarkable. Lions tend to remain in a category, asfar as certain habits are concerned, but, as respects others,and food is one of these, theY-have been found to be mostindividual. Thus, one lion which lived on top of MingusMountain in Arizona was very fond of porcupines and madeup most of his diet with these spiny animals. 1 Other lions,and this is by far the largest majority, prefer deer. Othersmay acquire a liking for beef or lamb and act accordingly.
. There has never been any attempt to differentiate betweenindividual lions. This mayor may not be profitable, but itis worth looking into. A few years ago the bear was inquite as bad grace as the lion now iS"and his numbers werealmost as thin. The bear now, in most states, has found hisplace as a game animal. However, in this connection itmust be remembered that the bear is essentially omnivorouswhereas the lion is carnivorous.
5. Seton, E. T., op. cit., p. 108. The author says of six assaults, four were fatal.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [15
LION COUNTRY-HABITAT
very mild-mannered.6 This survey secured three lion kittensand kept them for observation throughout the year's work.6
These lions made excellent pets. Most wilq. cats, however,of whatever species, tend to reassert wild instincts withincreasing age.
6. Vernon Bailey "in a personal note to the author.7. Desert ranges in western Arizona.
Lions do not inhabit all mountainous country withintheir range. There are so-called areas of lion country wherethe lions spend most of their time. The professional huntersget to know these sections, or can recognize them, knowledgewhich aids greatly in capturing the cats. The lion countryis usually characterized as rocky, with the steepest and mostrugged of ravines and canyons. Rimrocks, such as are afeature of much of the southern lava country, form naturallion cat-walks. A lion seldom goes through a country; hewill go around it by way of the ledges and rock rims. Anotherprerequisite of good lion country is brush. This may .be ofoak scrub, mahogany, manzanita, or any of the more northernvarieties, but it must be thick. Very bushy, steep hillsides,with rock cliffs above and below, form the ideal country.The deer do not always have to be plentiful, as sometimesnumbers of lions may be found in a country but sparselypopulated with deer.7 In such rough country the l~ons
usually follow the rimrocks, but, if there are no real rIms,the ridges are the passways. Rocky points seem to be thenatural means of travel for the.lion, and their sign, if thereare any cougar in the country, can always be found in suchplaces. They 'do not seem to favor very high country, suchas the Canadian or Alpine zones, although in the northernpart of their range they frequent the aspen and sprucethickets, if the terrain is favorable for them. They areseldom found in high timberline or tundra country, but seemto prefer the lower ridges and slopes where the cover isthicker and the game more plentiful. Bobcats are often
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO14 ]
or contemplated an attack. In most of these instances thelion had ample time to make the charge, had he so intended.Instead, the animal seems motivated by a curiosity whichis rather typical of the cat kind.· Several times in the experience of this survey, lions went out of their way to have alook at their tormentors, although themselves keeping out ofsight. In one instance, in southern Arizona, the lion passedwithin thirty feet of the hunter, unobserved.
In some instances, after a lion had been treed, the hunterwould poke him out with a stick to get him to run and treeagain for the training of the young dogs. At such times it iscustomary to climb into the same tree with the lion and prodthe beast in the belly with an eight-foot pole, if he does notjump out before that time. Usually the lion is so afraid ofa man that he will jump from forty or fifty feet above theground and brave the danger of a pack of bloodthirstyhounds rather than suffer a man to approach him. At no
. time was a lion ever observed even making a move to attacka man. Those men who hunt them consistently are verycontemptuous of their game in this respect. Tame lions,upon acquaintance with man, seem to become bolder and tolose some of their instinctive dread. So, too, with man, who,upon a greater acquaintance with the cougar, loses much ofhis dread of the animal.
When it is considered that we kill several hundredcougars within the limits of our country every year, therecord of half a dozen or so lion assaults within fifty yearsis not so imposing.5 Perhaps in the next few years a littleof the energy which has been expended in the hunting of thelion will be spent upon the study of this interesting animal.If such were the case, there is no doubt'that we should finda curious, gentle, and very likeable disposition supplantingthe vicious side. It is well known that the cougar tameseasily and makes a very lovable pet when a kitten. It hasbeen said of the lion by those who have raised them that theyhave the. heart of a kitten even when full grown, and are
f;I
I,.,, I
i
found in the same country with lions, but by choice thesesmaller cats usually inhabit a different type of country.Rock slides and country of jumbled and broken rock fragments make the hunting ground of the wild cat. Such distinctions between the chosen areas of the lion and the bobcatmay be fine and do not hold in all instances, but, for the mostpart, they are adhered to. Thus, as soon as the dogs havefollowed a track for a distance, the hunter can determineby the direction arid characteristics of the track whether it .is lion or cat, even though a single individual track printcannot be found.
Lion rims, which have received such notoriety in trapping articles, are merely such passways· along the edges ofcliffs and runs. Such routes are followed by the lions withregularity, the lions even stepping in the identical footprintsin some spots, such as, for instance, around a boulder closeto the edge of the cliff. These lion rims, when located, havebeen utilized to good advantage to trap the animal, a difficult feat otherwise. Generally a lion is unwary about atrap, as compared with the coyote and the wolf, but wiltseldom come to a scent bait. However, a number of lionshave been caught in blind sets on these runways. In onecase, in the Matazel Mountains in Arizona, a lion ~as followed along up the east bank of Clear Creek, run for fifteenmiles and then back over the same way on the following day.In all that distance, as the tracks were clearly visible in thedry dust, the lion did not deviate twenty feet from his owntrack in any. one place. When he came to points on thecliff where he had cut across on the up-journey, he cutacross these same ones on the trip back. In some places hestepped in his old tracks. Of course, this was the samelion, but other lions following through this country traveledthe same route, as could be seen by old scratGhes. This istrue of almost every lion-inhabited mountain range: Thereare regular routes which the lions travel in going from oneend of the range to the other, or across it. An interestingthing about these routes is that they sometimes change from
MOVEMENTS AND MIGRATIONS
8. Observations of the Sq.rvey in the San Juan Mountains. as compared withaccounts of previous hunters. The story of F. Colcord of Matazel Mountains.
9. On three occasions during this survey. lions which were jumped from the rockshad completely empty stomachs when examined.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [17
year to year. One season the lions will favor one rim as aroute between two mountains, and the next year they choosean entirely different ridge to travel the same country.s Whatdictates this it is impossible to say.
Just why a lion always prefers to travel the edges ofcliffs and ridges it is also impossible to say. A man mightdo so to make the traveling easier and to avoid-crossingcanyons, but a lion seems moved by no such labor-savingmotive. Indeed it seems that often a lion will pick out thesteepest, most rocky canyon to cross and recross. Whencrossing a ridge, a lion will, as likely as not, cross over thehighest part of the divide instead of hunting a saddle.Trappers usually argue that a lion likes'to walk along theedge of a cUff so that he can see over and survey the country.This may be true, but the fact that he does most of hisprowling at night does not add to the theory. (Lionsappearto be diurnal only during stormy weather.) A lion seemsto have a certain feeling about rocks, which causes him ever
. to keep in their'vicinity. After he eats on his kills he willalmost always choose some rocky ledge or jutting'crag inwhich to spend the day. If there are no rocks or cliffs closeby, he may lie up in. a bushy thicket of oak or manzanita,but he seems to prefer rocks. The lying-up habit is the rulewith the cougar. This is not always because he has justeaten and is lying in with a fl]ll belly to digest his meal; itis a regular habit with the lion whether he has eaten or not. 9
At times, at rare intervals, lions have been seen movingin the daytime, but this seems to be the exception. A lion
.. can and does, upon necessity, move in the daylight. Hiseyesight is as good in daylight as that of any other beast,as .was observed on numerous occasions during this survey,
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO16 ]
. ...:~;
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [19
two other lions have moved in. No one knows from whatsource. It is this one trait of the lion more than any otherwhich has preserved him so long against persistent hunting.The question is-do these movements have any reguladtyand meaning? Are they dependent on food as are those ofother animals? To what distance do the lions travel?These are all questions which cannot be answered now, butit is imperative that they be answered and that before thenumbers of the lion are such that they cannot be studied.If we fully understood these migrations and the reasonsbehind them, we should more fully understand the lion.
The movement of lions from one mountain range toanother has been observed on numerous occasions by old lionhunters. According to the story of Frank Colcord, ofPatagonia Mountains, lions have been seen crossing roads oropen stretches of country at various times, far from anymountains or lion country. During this survey, lions wereseveral times trailed down out·of the mountains into the lowfoothills and far into Mexico. This investigator wanted totag some lions by metal clips in their ears and in this waylearn something of their traveling habits. However, it wasfeared that this wOuld raise too much opposition with thecattle and game interests. It is hoped that it may be done inthe not too distant future.
In this connection the tiger or jagUar must be mentioned, for he belongs properly to the Southwest lion problem, although in but a small way. The jaguar isa cat whichbelongs to latitudes below the Rio Grande, but on occasionvisits mountain ranges in the southern part of Arizona,New Mexico, and Texas. The tiger is heavier ·and stouterthan the cougar and is chi~fly distinguished by his coat ofyellow with superimposed black rosettes and spots whichdo not differ radically from the African leopard. His habits,as much as they are known, are ~ery similar to those of thelion. The chief differences are a fierce and hostile disposition in the jaguar and a consequent ability and willingnessto fight man or dog, which is absent in the lion. There is
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO18 ]
10. Account of "Old Man" of Deery Mountain~ near Prescott. Arizona: stories of"Old Man Li!ly" of lion chases of fifty miles and more.
but he prefers the night for moving about. The tame lionskept by this survey were observed as peculiar in this respect.They moved quietly, but without much show of energy intheir cages during the hours of the day, but in the eveningand during the night they were most active, and prowledand hunted as much as the limits of the cage would allow.Under artificial light, these tame lions were inactive. Assoon as the light was extinguished they were on the move,running, jumping, and fighting with one another like domestic kittens. The second the light was turned on they werequiet and lay or sat where they were. The darkness seemedto act as a stimulant and tonic to their activity. A deepdusk rather than total darkness suited them best.
Lions in the wild seem to avoid bad weather as much aspossible. In a bad sleet or snow storm the lion will remainunder a low-spreading spruce tree or in the rocks. If thestorm continues, he will go hunting when moved byhunger and seems in no way inconvenienced in so doing. Aslight rain also does not seem to interfere with his regular.nocturnal prowl in the least. The natural oils of his hairprevent the moisture from soaking in and getting him reallywet. The cougar can and does swim dvers, but it is doubtfulthat he does so from any desire to sport in the water. Itappears to be, rather, a strong yearning to be on the otherside. Lions' tracks were observed crossing the Gila andVerde rivers several times. On one of these occasions afemale and two large kittens had tracked up the sand barsfor several hundred yards up and down the river beforecrossing. It appeared that the lions, or the young ones atleast, were very reluctant to enter the water, but did so atlast.
The migration of lions is a subject which has receivedvery little attention. It has been well known for a number
. of years that lions move for long distances at times.10 If thelion population of a mountain range is depleted, in a year or
11. Hittell, Theodore H .. Adventures af J. C. Ada;mB. 1860. reprint 1911.12. Hollister, Ned, "The Louisiana Puma,". P'rocdedings oj th,e Hfological Society,
June 16, 1911. p. 177. .13. Mills. Enos A .• ap. cit .. p. 200.
THE LION SCREAM
One of the most hotly contested traits of the cougar ishis ability. or non-ability to scream. This animal wascredited by all the early writers with the power of making along wailing note which was usually described as similar tothe scream of a woman. There are authorities both pro andcon on this matter. Ned Hollister12 and Enos Mills13 are
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 21
14. Merriam. Dr. C. Hart. Mammals t>f the Adirt>ndacks. 1884, p. 37-38'.15. Bruce. J., Field and Stream. October, 1921, p. 580-581.
positive in their identification of these nocturnal sounds asthe product of the cougar. Merriam 14 and Jay Bruce,t5 theCalifornia hunter, are quite as certain in their denials of theexistence of any such thing. The cry, as described by Hollister in the Biological Society publication, is "long drawnout, shrill, trill, and startling. It commences low on the scale,gradually ascends, increasing in volume, and then lowers atthe end." Around every campfire on every sort of trip intothe woods the cry of the lion always has its part in thestories. No tale of lion hunting or capture is completewithout the cry of the cougar on the prowl.
The findings of this survey were much in accord withthose of Merriam. Upon inquiry from \ all those hunterswhose business it was to trail and kill lions, in no instancedid anyone of these men admit to ever hearing a lion.These men, Pickens, Colcord, Goswick, and Bannerman,all said that they had never heard a cougar scream or heardany sound in the night which might be attributed to thatsource.
In this respect, an incident which took place during thecourse of this investigation is illuminating. We werecamped in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona, following upa lion report. In the evening we gathered around the campfire with the usual crowd of visiting cowhands and trapperswhd had dropped in for a cup of coffee. The talk, as usual,shifted to mountain lions and, eventually, to the question oftheir scream. One of the men at the fire said with assurancethat he had often heard the cry of the lion in these southernmountain ranges. He even went so far as to raise his ownvoice in imitation of this sound. He threw back his headand uttered a scream which did credit to all that had beenclaimed for the cry of the cougar. For a moment, after theechoes of this fearful noise died away, there was lastingsilence around the fire; no one spoke or moved: Then, faraway over the hills, came an answer to the cry, clear but
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO20 ]
only one record of tigers breeding within the limits of theUnited States.u Hunters who have operated in those south_ern regions have often had the opportunity of checking up onone animal for several days or weeks. The tiger appearsfrom across the border and travels around for a week, oreven two weeks, covering perhaps twenty miles a day. Afterthis visit and making a kill or two, he returns across theborder. These animals have been tracked from one rangeto another in southern Arizona. One we tracked during thisinvestigation evidently had concluded this tour, for he washeaded back into Mexico. It is extremely interesting tospeculate on the purpose of these visits. Are they merelythe wanderings of a restless animal, or do they have somewider significance? The lion probably acts in much thesame way, making'large circles of a hundred or two hundredmiles and returning. Mr. Ben Foster, of the BiologicalSurvey, believes that these migrations 'go much farther. Itcannot yet be told whether they have any seasonal regularity or not. It is entirely possible that these lions haveregular migration routes over large areas very similar tothe lion rims within a single mountain range. The evidencepoints to the existence of such routes. Due to their furtiveand nocturnal habits, it is impossible now to make any
'definite statements. That they do move is fact, but themethod and details are obscure.
I
:I!"I
:1
:1I,'jl,
:: ii'I I,
II
:;:1"1-, I
':" '~il', il ': I:j
,:1',i', ,i, ' ',I
faint on the still air, for there was no wind. The .trapperwho had imitated the lion scream looked startled at first,then settled back in his place with a triumphant shrug.There could be no skepticism now. H.e had screamed sowell that he had gotten an answer from a lion prowling onthe ridges. Before anyone answered him the cry was repeated, and repeated again. It was very similar to thescream which the trapper had portrayed, and the literarydescription of the sound. Then someone, in getting morecoffee, kicked a canteen which was lying near the fire. Thesound of the scream was repeated, but this time its originwas clear. The moist air in the canteen, upon expandingfrom the heat of the fire, was forcing its way out from underthe aluminum cap. This produced a noise which soundedlike the scream of a woman a long distance away. Throughthe rest of the evening we produced cougar screams at willby placing the canteen near to or away from the fire.
The tame lions kept by the investigator did utter anoise, but this could in no way be described as a scream. Inthe evenings, when the lions were most active in the variouscages, they would utter this sound, first one and then theother, back and forth in a seeming communication. Thenoise could be heard at the most only two hundred yardsaway from its source and was n'ever louder. It most resembled the harsh, unpleasant sound of the pinon jay. Indeed the noise was much more like that of a bird than a lion.It could best be described as a yap well up on the scale. Thelion in the adjoining cage would immediately and always .give attention when another lion made this sound. Evenpreoccupation with catnip was not enough to keep' a lionfrom looking up and giving his attention to the call. Theresponse was always sure, but the cry was not· alwaysanswered.
Why this cry has not received attention before, it isimpossible to say. It was no phenomenon with these tamelions and was repeated on various and numerous occasions.It is most certain that such a cry or means of communica-
)
16. This was observed on two occasions in the Mogollon Mountains.17. Homer Pickens says. HSometimes a female will scratch up small mounds near
her kill." This may not be a true scratch. F. C. H.
tion is used. These tame lions were from two separatelitters from widely separated parts of New Mexico. Then,too, it has been observed many times by the investigatorthat a female hunting in the bush with, some large kittenswill separate from them widely, and then rejoin them at agiven place. Two or three lions hunting together willseparate several hundred yards on a heavily bushed-overslope. Then, at a given place, the tracks will all come together and perhaps the lions will leave to hunt another hillside. 16 It would be impossible to explain this maneuver wereit not for some means of communication.
On the matter of purring, the results differ widely fromprevious accounts on the subject. The tame lions of thesurvey purred frequently and on many occasions. Often alow growl would turn into a purr with no perceptible breakbetween the two. Contentment was the occasion for a purras when the animal was being rubbed behind the ears, orwas sucking a particularly toothsome piece of bone. A napon top of their cages in the sunshine sometimes produced alow purring sound which lasted for several minutes at atime. The animal might then drift off to sleep and, uponbeing reawakened, start to purr again. The ordinary purrof these lions, indicating pleasure or complacence, was veryloud and as analogous in volume as their size compares witha house cat. There are many witnesses who will attest tothe purring of these lions. Even, though they were in captivity, there is no reason to believe that the purr is a resultof domestication.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 23
THE SCRAPE
The lion scrape or scratch is one of the most strikingfeatures of lion hunting in all its phases. It is made by themale lion for the most part and, usually indicates the trackof a male lion. Its absence on a track correspondingly indicates a female,17 ,This scraping habit of the lion produces
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO22 ]
a small mound of pine needles and rubble several inches inheight, seldom higher. The dirt and needles are scraped upfrom one side with the paws to form the pile upon which theurine is deposited. The act is in every sense a scent station,such as is common with the male coyote and the male wolf.However, whereas the wolf and coyote almost invariablychoose a tree or bush for a scent sign, the lion puts his signalong the rims and ridges on his runs. Thus a hunter, uponentering a new country, immediately goes to the rims and'looks for scratches. The presence of lions in that area willalmost always be indicated in that way. In mountain rangeswhere the lions are fairly numerous, the rims and ridgesare scraped every few yards. Often the lion will scrape inthe same spot both going and returning along a cliff. Thisaction produces a conical pile of leaves and dirt scrapedfrom both sides and collecting material from perhaps asquare foot. The scrapes are usually in selected placesunder overhanging bushes or trees. A practiced lion huntercan tell at a distance a likely spot for a scratch. On old lionruns all likely spots have been used and re-used, scraped'and re-scraped. Such a scratch may still be recognized afterthe snows and rains of a year's time have fallen upon it.
The purpose of the scratch is probably a sex challenge,very similar to that of the dog. This is illustrated by thefact that a male lion, when actually courting a female, 'willsc~ape very frequently. On one occasion in the CatalinaMountains we were following the hot trail of a female (i. e.,there were no scratches on the track) when we crossed thevery fresh sign of a male. He was evidently courting thefemale, for he was making scratches every few feet. Onecould follow his track on the pine needles with the eye by thescratches along the ridge. In this case he deposited only afew drops of urine on each scrape. A wolf will do this samething in his own way. 'When he is rutting with ,a' female,he will make numerous scent stations upon all the trees andbushes of the neighborhood. Upon, each of thes,e he willscratch vigorously with the hind feet, tearing up the surface
24 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [25
of the ground, sometimes for several yards, and brushingthe dirt in the vague direction of the urine deposit. 18 Acoyote goes through a similar procedure on a smaller scale.Such a scent left on the various bushes and clumps of grassserves as a variety of challenge and card of identification forany other male that may happen along. It is probably muchthe same with the lion. It is more difficult to be certain aboutthis point in the case of the lion, as he scrapes in certaintypes of localities which do not offer a wide range of choicealong the rims, ridges, and canyon bottoms. From thetracks, however, it is certain that a lion does not miss anyopportunity to smell old scrapes, whether they are his ownor those of a strange lion. Doubtless, to the lion, as to thedog, all these scents have their distinct meaning and connotate certain individuals.
The bobcat scrapes almost as regularly and in the sameway as the lion. A bobcat scrape may be distinguished froma lion scrape by its relatively small size and the impressionleft by the strokes of the' paws when the pile was made.
, The manner of mak'ing the scratch has been somewhatin doubt. Most of the hunters believe that the sign is madewith the front paws of the lion reaching over the pile andpulling the debris towards itself. A house cat handles dirtin much the same manner. This belief has been augmentedby the known fact that the lion covers his kill in this m,anner, scraping up leaves and rubbish to cover the meat. Also,the strokes of the scrape always lead back in the oppositedirection to that followed by the lion itself. However, closeobservation Of the tra:cks, which are sometimes left in the
. dirt laid bare by the scratching, make it now fairly certainthat the male cougar'scrapes with his hind feet. The largemale lion kept by "Iridian Joe," near Gallup, New Mexico,
,was observed to scrape in this way, that is, with the hindfeet. He had a scrape-in the center of his cage scratchedfrom both ways that was some two feet high. He often
18, Extensive notes on wolves were, made by the writer in the Santa Rita
Mountains of Arizona.
. /
26 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
scraped upon this every few minutes. (This was observedi? May ~hich was probably the mating season for this partIcular lIon.) He dropped some urine upon the ground, thenpassed on a step and scraped with his hind feet with analternated motion, making two or three strokes with eachfoot to make the pile. He then deposited some more urineon top.
The lion seldom, if ever, buries his dung; although thedu~g is frequently found on top of these scrapes. The lion,WhICh was observed scraping in captivity, used the dung asa material with which to scrape, but in nowise covered itup or seemed to notice it at all. He never looked at whathe was doing when scraping, but gazed around whilemoving his hind feet. If the dung is ever buried in a scrapeor arou~d a kill, it seems purely accidental and probabl;was buned by a new scrape being superimposed on an oldone. However, dung is frequently found on top of scrapesand may at times form a part of the scent action. Aboutone scrape in five is topped with dung. ,
In this connection should be mentioned several cavesan~ overhanging ledges which were outstanding depositones for dung. Also, in treading a ledge or the foot of acliff, a lion will scrape under the overhanging rocks in muchthe same manner as under a tree; a protection real orimaginary, from above seems to be the main pr~requisitefor such a site. Several caves were located in southernNew Mexico which evidently had served as depositories for?ung for years. As many as fifty specimens were presentIII one of these caves. They were in no sense lairs or evenhabitations, for these particular caves were down in the~ottom of a large canyon, whereas a lion almost invariablylIes up on a slope or cliff much higher up. There was no~ign of any bones or food waste (granting for the momentthat the cougar carries parts of kills around as coyotes do).There was no indication that a female had ever· raised kittensthere, or that a male had stayed there. There were only thenumerous deposits of dung and many more of older vinta.ge,
i, i
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 27
which had been gathered up by the packrats and incorporated into their nests. The protection, which, these cavesafforded, was probably the reason for this habit, but theremay be some instinct, also, to gather the dung into oneplace. House cats sometimes act in this way. Then, too,these caves are sheltered and the deposition would last muchlonger there than in the open.
This strange and remarkable habit of scraping isvery strong in the lion. Young males of but a few monthswill make diminutive scrapes occasionally, although theymay have a year or more until the other mating instinctsare developed.19 The whole process is not fully understood.With an instinct as pronounced in the young ,lions as thisseems to be, there should be little room for individual variation, and yet some males seldom, if ever, scrape. There arerecords, though not numerous, of lion hunts in which a malelion was the victim and no scrapes were found. It may beargued that it was not the mating season. However, by farthe greatest majority of male lions scrape, at least occasionally, at any time of the year. During this investigation alion which did not conform to the rule was trailed onMingus Mountain in Arizona. This lion had lived in thislimited area for some time. On three occasions and for twodays each time we gave chase to him, but never got closeenough behind to jump and tree him. During all this hunting we found IJo scrape. Nor were there any scratchesalong the rims even in the most favorable places. There wasno sign anywhere in the area, fresh or otherwise, whichwould indicate that that lion had made a scrape. Wethought, of course, that we were following a female throughout the.chase. It may be that this is just individual variation, as this lion was the same which was so fond of porcupines, but that does'not explain it, al1.20 This male, when
19. Lions in captivity usually breed only after three years.20. All the fresh dung specimens which Were collected in this end of Mingus
Mountain contained porcupine. Also .on this lion's trail we came across .three. porcupine
kills. These last do not appear in the tables,
-I
24. A lion was observed doing this in the Catalina Mountains .25. One such place was observed in the Mogollons. . . .26. Observed) on one occasion by "Old Man" Lilly.27. Conklin, W. A., Proceedings of the Zoological Societv of Lm«lon, 1832, p. 62.28. Report of B. Bac" of the New Mexico Game Department. •
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [29
is certain that she makes dung depositions on some of themale scrapes, although this may be simply because thesescrapes are on natural lion rims and used by male and femalealike. A wandering male, upon scenting the female scentsigns, starts to trail her up and court her.24 It is at thistime, and this time only, that there is any possibility thatthe cougar screams. Or it may be that the female makes thesound to attract the male. However, in mating iricages,the action is quiet. It is while in pursuit of the female inheat that the male makes the most of the scrape, linkingthis to the mating action. If there are two males on thescene, there will likely be a fight, and most surely a greatamount of bouncing about and much pawing of the ground.Localities where these mating trysts have taken place aretorn and tramped for many yards around.25 The bark istorn and scratched on the trees, and small bushes are brokendown or torn up. There is evidently a great preliminaryplay of circling and scratching in this mating action. It ismost probable that it -all ends by a great chase, with thefemale leading up and down trees, over ledges, rocks andhillsides.26 On completion of the mating action which maylast all day, the couple go quietly about their prowling andhunting, and any other disappointed males, if there hasbeen competition, go in search of another mate. The maleand female remain together for perhaps two months, cer-'tainly not longer, and then separate again for a year or more.
The gestation of the lion has been fixed variously at 91,98, and 104 days.27 This scale represents the extremes.
.A recent report of the New Mexico State Game Departmentbears out these figures.28 The lions were observed mating,and the young arrived in the regulation thirteen weeks. Thisis an exceedingly short period; as compared with manyother animals, and ought to argue a rapid increase in lion
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO28 ]
killed, was sexually normal in all his organs and as farcould be determined, in good condition physicall;. as
MATING
There is some evidence that lions are monogam~usMost of the cat family, including the tiger,21 have been ob~served to hav.e only one mate. Indeed, this is common ofmost of t~e hIgher animals and birds. This does not meanthat. a paIr ?f cougars mate for life, although this, too, ispossIble. LIOns are essentially solitary animals and arerar~ly found together, except during the mating ceremonyor m t~e case of a female with kittens, In this latter instance ~t may be mentioned that. many mistaken reportshave arIsen from the fact that the kittens often remain withthe fe~ale ~ntil t~ey are almost two years old. Thus, amale kItten IS not mfrequently larger than his mother asmales a.re ~lways larger than females. The evidence se~msconclusIVe tha~ the same lions often mate together yearafter year an~ return to the same hunting grounds.22 Whennot actually m the mating period, they do not travel together, but roam abroad, keeping within the same generalarea, perhap~, but not going together. When the femalefeels the perIOd of the kittens coming on, she separatesfrom the male and goes apart to have her young. The maleranges' abroad ~y :pimself and does not rejoin the female orany female untIl she is again in heat. There is little evidence that the male stays with the female and helps raisethe young.
. The courting antics have been observed wI'th t l'd . . . ame IOnsan m certam rare mstances with wild ones 23 Th f '1h . h' ' . e ema e,w en m eat, starts to hunt a male and circles the countryby mea?s of the rims and ridges, leaving her scent of afemale m heat, perhaps on the very scrapes of the male. It
21. RittelI. T. R., op. cit.. 22. Stories of Ben Lilly. Investigation of the "Big Lion" f D M"
Arlzona.-F. C. H. 0 eery QUntaln.
23.. New Mexico Game Department tame lions at the World's' .Forest and .stream, Sept. 19, 1914, p. 364.' FaIr; Martm, E. J.,
29~ Three litters were secured and observations on two more Four' of these. litters numbered three each. the' other two. .
population. This, however, is not the case, due to the factthat the female does not breed each year. Conclusive evidence of this is the fact that, very frequently, females areaccompanied by kittens which are over a year old. It is notprobable that the lion in the wild state breeds with the maleuntil her kittens are weaned and have gone out on theirown. But it seems the rule rather than the exception forsuch family groups to stay together for a year or more.
It is most likely that a female has a litter about everyyear and a half, as the dates of birth are so irregular, Thus,every third year she might give birth to kittens in the spring.
The early months of the summer are considered thenormal time for the birth of young. However, there are verywidely divergent dates on record, which cover almost everymonth of the year. In this year's work litters of kittenswere found in February, December, and April. Of these,the first were some three months old, the second two monthsthe third just born. This would bring the birth months i~December, October, and March or April, respectively. Thebreeding season for such litters is around September, July,and the last in the middle of the winter or in January. Evenfrom this small series of dates, it is evident that there is noset time for mating or birth. It may occur at any time ofthe year, although the greatest number of records favorthe spring; Another record furnished by this survey isthat of a female lion, with four embryos some two monthsalong, which was killed on April 16.
The young are in number from two to four, with fivebut rarely. Three is the average litter.29 The males andfemales are about evenly divided in the litter, a very fitprovision of nature. The young are spotted and downy,when very small, and have noticeably short tails. Theysquall and spit and fight with one another as soon as theyare able to stand. They have a full set of teeth in abo~t amonth, and are weaned in the wild state at aroun'd two or '
1',l
i
,II
I
III1'1
1'1':II'
II
Ill'
PRELIMI~ARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [31
30. This took place in the San Mateo Mountains.
three months of age. The kittens are able to climb treesalmost as soon as they can walk, and they do a great deal ofclimbing by way of play. They are not arboreal expertswhen very young, however, and are exceedingly unstablein a tree until at least six months old.
The mother love, which is proverbial in cats and hasbeen recorded for the lion, was found remarkably lacking.Bannerman had an experience with a lion and one kitten.3o
In this case, the lion had a den under an overhanging bankwhere the dogs bayed her. One of the dogs reached in pasther and pulled her kitten outside where the hounds killed it..The lioness made no move to protect it and did not seem tonotice the occurence at all. Her only concern was with herself and the dogs before her.
This is borne out by an instance in the past year. Wetrailed a female and three kittens in the snow in CopperasCanyon in the Mogollon Mountains. After a chase whichlasted the best part of two days, the trail was straightenedout and 'the kittens treed in a small juniper. The femalegaye no heed to this fact; not even when the dogs pulled oneof the kittens down and killed it did she stop. She ran onfor another mile and a half, where she treed in a large pine.We returned 'later' and caught the remaining two kittensalive.
The only instinct, or at least the one uppermost, is thatof self-preservation at any cost. It may be that the hyste~ia,which is created by. the noise of the hounds and pursumgmen completely annihilates for the moment any reactionto p~otect the young. However, the trait goes to no limitswhich have been claimed for it. There have been numerouscases of persons carrying home a lion kitten which they hadfound by chance in the woo~s. On none oft?ese occasionsdid the female, if she was lurking near, proffer the leastobjection.. When this action is contrasted With. that of t~egrizzly bear, the difference is marked. If a hon loses I~Skitten, it will, in most cases, not even return to look for It
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO30 ]
THE LION DEN OR LAIR
until nightfall. It is to her credit that she will always return, but this is in her own good time and under the safestcircumstances.
31. This debris might well have been brought in by coyotes even though the lair
itself showed evidence of lion occupation. . . .32. Such a place was observed in the Mogollons and another Instance In the
San Mateos.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [33
lair only, which was located in Esmeralda County of Nevada,had some bones and animal debris in evidence. Thesewere, for the most part, the remainsof rabbits, with the legbone of one deer. The den itself was merely a shelteredspot under a large boulder.a! All' other dens encounteredwere filled with leaves or grass, in most cases accounted forin a natural way, as wind-blown or water-drift.
According to the evidence at hand, there is little groundfor the popular belief that the lion makes a kill and bringsback portions of the meat to her kittens. The procedure, asobserved during this survey, was that the kittens were leftin the lair until fully weaned, perhaps at about two monthsand a half, or three months of age, or at least until theycould travel.' During this first period, the female wi)! movethe kittens if it seems necessary or danger impends. This, .
she does with her mouth, as does the house cat. A lionesswas observed moving her kittens out of danger in theJemez Mountains, when a trail crew built ·a camp closeto the den. A female in the Albuquerque Zoo moved herkittens so frequently that she killed them. This, however,was an abnormal condition caused by the close proximity ofa carnival with all its noises and crowds.
As soon as the young lions can move of their own accord,even a mile or so, the female makes a kill in the neighborhood. . She then goes back and leads the kittens to this, and .they stay there until the kill is consumed. The lionessherself makes but very short forays from this spot duringthis time. As soon as this kill is consumed, she goes out andmakes another and leads the kittens there. These earlykills are very apt to be in a small canyon or ravine. Everypiece of ground in such instances is covered with th~ tracksof the kittens as they prowl about and play WIth oneanother. 32 The pine needles are scratched up and the treesare scarred by this play. The whole canyon for a quarter of
TTHE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO32 ]
There has been much discussion over this item of lionequipment. The lion den has always been a major part ofthe stories of the wild panther. Magazine covers have featured it and pseudo-naturalists have taken it for granted:The evidence collected in the last year casts a great deal ofdoubt on this romantic piece of lion lore. Of the fourteendescriptions of lion lairs which were collected, only one wasin the rocks, and this was in no sense a cave or cavern.There are undoubtedly many lairs in the rocks, but a littlecrack or an overhanging ledge is the rule. A person lookingfor a great and gloomy cave with the ]joness and her kittensat play before the door will be greatly disappointed. Evenin a rocky and rough country the lion seems to prefer a low,overhanging spruce or a thick clump of oak or manzanitabushes. An undercut bank, an old badger hole enlarged bya coyote, a cavity under a tree root-all serve as the h~me
of the lion family. A serviceable, fairly dry spot, with protection and' concealment, seems to be desired.
There is no foundation for the common belief that themale lion eats its own young when possible. The one or twocases (and these are doubtful) where this has occurred;vere cases of lions in captivity. It must be mentioned here,and emphasized strongly, that lions, or any wild animals,for that matter, in captivity are, in most reactions, notnormal animals. Their food habits, their mating, and alltheir other natural reactions are warped, curtailed, or provided for. Some items, such as gestation, and so forth, maybe observed with captive ]jons, but for the actual life of thelion we must observe the animal in the wild, foraging for hisown food· and hunting his own mate. .
Dens observed or described on this investigation werenot littered with bones, as writers love to tell about. One
34 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
a mile in every direction rna b thseldom go out of this area y e u~ tracked, but the trackswith the kill, and pieces of r~e kltten~ play a great dealfound at some distance from
st~n and bIts of bone may be
step is taken and the lions leavectharcadss, W~en once thisthe b bl e e en to hve by a k'll
y pro a y never return to the d F . 1,the home is where they find th e~, rom that tIme on,with some favorite haunts emse ves when day dawns,choice. At one such I '. perhaps, but a wide range ofkittens had had the drfe~~~ I~ thde ~OgOIlOn Mountains, theand the ground was track~d ea 0 a fawn for a plaything,tumbled and rolled the head l' antdh ~arlked where they had
W. n elr pay.
hIle the female is r ,. th k'in their development th als~ng e Ittens at the early stagelittle f~r the coyote~ ~wIll.eatt deer completely, leavingnot cover the kill after eae:: IS a so e~idence that they doThe usual time for the famil ~ea~, a~ IS the rule later on.a week, if the kill is a y s a~I~g m such a spot is aboutthree kittens. The liond~e~~te;~Is:sfor the usual litter ofhaving several kills and takin h
g.ve account of a female
other alternately None such g eI brood from one to theThese cases, as those of m I ;as enco~ntered in this study.in a short time, are most c:reta~~ns ~a~I~g a num?e~ of killscaprice As the fa '1 ly llldIvIdual VarIatIOns and
. mI y grows older the band more, and at the age of six m' y mo;e a out moreto move about much like adult r onths the kIttens are ablecontinues to make the kill d dons. The female, however,ability to stalk and kill dS an to most of the hunting. Theyoung are at least a year ~~~ nOd s,eem to develop until thekittens probably confine th anI' III most cases, older. The
d. emse ves to smaller g t fi
an mcrease their diet as their bTt' arne a rstshares her kills with the kitt a 1 I It·~sl advance. The female
d ens un 1 they are of f II .~n ready to separate and shift for themsel u SIzehons encountered in the S d' M . ves. Two malean Ia ountams of N M 'were eighteen months of age ld ew exlCOtheir mother. The I' , ld or a er and yet still with
lOn, III 0 age also 10 h'stalking and killing and t t'. ses IS powers of
urns a eaSIer prey than a deer
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 35
This all seems to indicate that catching and killing a deeris not sO easy for a lion as has been supposed.
THE KILL
The method of obtaining food is fairly well known,although few persons have ever seen the act.33 The lion,like all cats, relies for the kill on his ability to make aquick rush and spring. There are probably no animalsswifter on a short spring than the cat, In keeping with thisability is their corresponding lack of staying power on alonger run. A lion, when jumped by dogs, seldom goes farbefore he trees. After such a half-mile spurt, he is completely winded. But in the short dash he is supreme andrelies on this to ,get his food. The pictures of lions springingupon the hapless deer at the water-hole are, for the mostpart, fiction. The lion on the hunt prowls the slopesand hillsides where the deer may be feeding. He locatesthese, probably, by the body odor, and not by any effort attracking. As the food tables will show, any other gamewhich crosses his path is entirely acceptable. The lion afterdeer either lies in wait for the deer to feed close to him, orcreeps upon him in the manner of a house cat stalking abird. The lion, when he considers himself sufficiently closefor success, rises suddenly and dashes upon the deer. Thereis little evidence to show that he screams as he does so. Thecougar, if the dash is successful, leaps upon the back of hisprey and bears it to the ground, This action itself mayaccount for the death of some of the lion's victims, for theneck of the victim is fractured upon striking the ground.However, in all but two of the fifty-odd kills examined during this survey, there were toothmarks on the back andneck of the kill, which would have caused death. Perhapsa combination of both of these methods is used. The attackis always from the top or from the side, and not ·from beneath as a wolf or dog does it. In view of the variety of
33. Methods of stalking also deseribed in Seton, E. T .• op. cit.. p. 96.I
II:
-36 ]
35, Merriam, C. R., op. cit., p. 30.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [37
It is evident from this report and from other records 35 thatlions kill quantities of porcupines. The killing of sucharmored animals must be extremely difficult and is not well
understood.More and more, as we go into the life history of the lion
with attention to first one individual and then another, it isevident that the variance between single lions is very great.We cannot be too positive upon anyone point, for, as sure asa definite rule is laid down, there will crop up an exception.But most important of all is this variance with individuais,which must be recognized by the interests which control
the lion.
REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATION ON DEER
It will quickly be seen from the section on the lion foodhabits that the greatest percentage of lion meals is composed
f of deer. This great bulk of wild life is made up of 'both the'white-tail and mule-deer v:arieties in about equal portions,as compared, with their respective abundance in the differentareas, It will, also, be noticed that the amount of domesticstock is very smalL This may be a coincidence, as far asthis one year's study is concerned, but ,that is beside thepoint. It was well known that the greater bulk of. the lion'sfood was deer, even before this investigation was undertaken. Many reputable men have maintained that a lionkills two deer a week. This, considering the lately,collectedevidence, seems too high. It is, probably, closer to one deera week, or even less, in light of the many small mammalsconsumed. However,it is a moot question, and evidence isvery hard to gather, at best. The main fact is that lionshave consumed large numbers of deer and have consequently earned the enmity of all the game interests. Thissurvey sought to throw some light on the situation.
It has been claimed by the more radical of the conserva-tion interests that the lion could and did kill only the weak
:\THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
wounds displayed by the I' ,that the lion springs high a~~ c
kIllS, the truth is, probably,
the vertebrae as his goal. The ~~ches wher~ver h~ can withclaws, undoubtedly pI I nd legs, wIth theIr ripping
. ay a arge partThe hon, when the kill is m d .
the carcass to a new s t d ~ e, almost invariably drags
tpo ownhIll Thi b
wo or three hundred d f . s may e as much asrocky canyon bottom yar bS rom the point of the kill. At I or a rushy wash f .o eave the kill. The first m . . are avorIte placesbelly, and the skin seems to b
eal I~ usually made from theparts. At the completion of ~:: Ished as on~ of the bestcovers up the carcass 'th I m~al, the hon carefullywhich may be scraped WI eav:s, stIcks. and pine needles
up over It Usuall th'covers the kill and serves both t' . ,y IS completelymeat fresh. Where the gr d' 0 hIde It and to keep thenot be enough debris to CO~T~~ • IS unusually bare, there mayall events. Mr. Barker the Ne~' but .an attempt is made inrelated a case where a' I' ,MexIco state game warden
. IOn wIth three k'tt h 'prIated an elk which had b k'll I ens ad appro-dressed and placed acros:e~ l~ ed. The. elk had been hogbest she could under th . g. The lIon had done theLarge pieces of bark hade b~:~u~stances, to cover the kill.~ully laid over the carcass It orn fr.om the log and carem this case used her mouth t was eVI~ent that the cougar:no.st cases it is done with the 0 help wIth the ,:ork, but inIS mvariable if there i paws. The covermg of a killmeal. If half a porcup~n:~~~;~t ~e~t left to make anothermany cases the lion d ' It IS carefully covered. In
oes not return but t IIprepares the kill so that he c ,a a events hekills may be buried eat an, should he so desire. Deerten times.34 Oftene~ th e~.~pohn, and reburied as many asbeen re-buried three or ;ou I t' sows the evidence of havingand only proof of a lio~ kil~. Imes. Such burying is~the sure
The killing of other animal "known. More study only will s a~~ bIrds IS not very well
provI e data on this subject34. One such was n.,ted in th C . •. , e atahna Mountains in Arizona.
111'11(%
ilill;l!f'11"11,1",,;"I, ,I,:
STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 39 1,1 ,Ii'38 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRELIMINARY)11 ,iii;ll'IU~
MULE DEER--Continned ' II:deer. The opponents of such societies contested just as rL 'Front,
I' "hotly that the lion killed the fattest and best of the deer and Approx.Leg Eyes Horns Ear I "Iii'Weight Length TarsusNo, Antlers Age, yrs.
Ir' I"'~Iwas able to do so easily. Neither side offered any substan- lbs.8% I"\!60 17% 23 t/s 4 lis 2'4,tial proof. In view of the controversy, the investigation 19 1 & 1 69
2% 9 '1z 'I ',I'181,4 26% 4%1'1'10 "
20 2 & 2 124 6610carried on in the fall of 1934 an extensive campaign of meas-
18 25 4 2% ,1,lii"74 60
~'['21 & 2
2" 9%70 19 '1s 26 4%urements to determine, if possible, the true status of the 22 2 & 2 2-3 110 ft· •63 18% -'25% 4 th 2% 8% 'iP'!:23 3 & 3 2-3 92
9%deer. In connection with the New Mexico Game Depart- 4% 2% ",97 59'12 18'4, 24 fII \ III
II24 2 & 2 2
4"~ 2% 9% 1:1 r61% 18 26~B
,:J,i:'lj
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [41
'36. A computation of the flesh eaten by the lion on the kill would not be accurate
enough to furn'ish any creditable data.
cured, but this was impossible.36 However, these measurements give a fair idea of the proportions of the animal. Atthe same time, notes were taken on the animal's condition,stomach examination, and general physical appearance. Itwas desirable to learn if there were any certain factors orgroup of factors which would be directly accountable forthe death of the deer. It has been well proved before thatthe high-powered rifle does not take into account any ofnature's balances. Man is the super-predator. The deer,therefore, that are gathered by the sportsmen logicallyought to be a cross-section of the bucks of those mountainranges. But the lion, perhaps, is governed by the balancefactors of the fit and the unfit, the normal and the subnormal ,or abnormal. In all species of life in the wild the unfit areeliminated. Nature eliminates the subnormal by means ofcertain eliminating factors. The question is-do the deerin the table, of lion kills show any features which wouldplace them in the category of the unfit?- Is the lion theeliminating factor provided for the deer?
It must be here emphasized that these tables are farfrom adequate. The number of deer of both white-tail andmule-deer varieties is disappointingly small; also, the listof lion kills contains only eleven individuals. Both of thesecategories should be increased to hundreds to reduce thepercentage of error and to give a better picture of the truesituation. It is hoped that this will be continued in thefuture. However, even these few figures may show trendsor lend encouragement to the future investigator. It issignificant that even with these limited statistics there areeleven lion kills, and each of the eleven exhibits some characteristic to which the death of the animal might be
attributed.Some of the lion-killed deer had beautiful sets of horns.
It may be here stated that a good set of horns is not necessarily a sign of good health or good physique. Also, in de-
Ear
8
7%8%8'128%7%7%8%8
8'h8
8%
Ear
3~,'B
333Y,3
3%%
3
2%2%3
2'%, 8'%,3 9%2'%, 9%2% 94 9%3% 92,1,; 8%3 9
2% 9'h3 8%2% 9
Horns
Horns
Eyes
Eyes
FrontLeg
222323 'h22'18
23%22%23'1221%22%23%2322
FrontLeg
1615%16%15%15'(,16%15%1616%15'h15%16%
20% 28 3%19% 24 '4 519% 81 4'1215 20% 4%18% 26 5%18% 24% 4'1219% 27 3%17 22 4%19% 26% 2%16 19% 3%14"V8 19 4%
80'(,63'(,
696S'(,
7664775778'h5450%
Length Tarsus
LION KILLS
67 'I" 58()5 59%~
69 5968'(, 6064 57%68'12 58
72 6059%
71 58'/z65 59
6057%
WHITE TAIL
Weight Length Tarsuslbs.
1-21-24-5
1-22-34-54-5-61-21-21-22-31-2
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Approx.Antlers Age, yrg.
Approx.Antlers Age, yrs. Weight
Ibs.
40 ]
No.
1 &2 2 & 23 3 & ,j
4 2 & 23 & 3
64& &7 6 & 682&92& 3
10 2 & 211 3 & 312 2 & 2
No.
14&44_523&34-533&32-34 2 & 2 1-25 4 & 3 2-36 3 & 2 2-37 3 & 3 3-48' 2 & 2 1-294&34-5
10 2 & 2 1-211 2&2 2-3
d It was hoped that a relative cross-section of the normaleel' could be secured in this way A very Iof these . . arge per cent
appeared In all ways to be normal lth hrk N b . ,a aug one,1 e um .er 60 In the mule-deer column, was obviously
undernourIshed and subnormal Tht k . . e measurements werea en ~n the. popular medium of inches. The length isfro~ tI~ to tip of the animal, not counting, of course hairpro rUSlOns. !he front leg was measured from tip ~f thehoof .to the POInt where the leg joined the body and not tthe tip of th h ld ,0. e s au er. The head was measured only theshortest distance between the eye-sockets and l'k .between th ' 1 eWIse
e permanent protrusions for the antlers. It isunfortunate that no weights for the'lion kills could be se-
termining the ages of the deer, the horns are only one factorto be considered. The small points and brow tines were notcounted. Even the large points are not a true indication ofage. Thus, a yearling buck may have two points on eachside; but a combination of the antlers and the teeth may givethe age within a year up to four or five. Beyond that, it isdifficult. .
Deer-kill No.1 was a mule-deer with a beautiful spreadof antlers. However, a glance at his body measurements isrevealing. He had the longest body, leg, and tarsus measuremen~s of any mule-deer in the tables. He exceeded byseveral Inches the normal proportions as exemplified bythese other figures. A drawing of this deer to scale, compare? with ano~her deer, would show his body to be ganglingand III-proportIoned. His weight would not have seemed tobe excessive. Lion-kill No.3 also exhibits this qualitv ofpoor proportion and excessive length of limb, as does N~. 7.It is noteworthy that the three which exhibit these extremecharacteristics are all found in the lion kill column. Can itbe that long legs are not conducive to a quick get-away?
Correspondingly, in the other extreme, No.4 is veryshort membered. This displays a tarsus length of onlyfifteen, as compared with its nearest rival, seventeen andone-eighth. Also, No.8 is remarkable in this respect. Thislast also had the hoof badly splintered and broken on bothfront legs.
No.2 seemed in measurements quite normal but was i~very bad condition. There was a large abcess in the regionof the larynx, which was completely filled' with some twohundred bot-rfly larvae. Such a concentration of larvae hadproduced a cavity several inches in each dimension andseverely pressed on the throat and windpipe, so' as to renderbreathing very difficult. The deer was in poor condition,and ·the flesh, even when cooked and garnished with spices,tasted dry and unpalatable. This deer, also, had a beautifulset of horns.
ilil
No.5 and No.6 were both pathological cases. No.5had an internal disorder which may have been caused fromparasitic worms. The region of the anus was scabbed a~dcovered with scar tissue. There were traces of pus Inabundance around this whole region. No stomach wormscould be found, however, for identification. The .wh~leanimal, and especially the ears, proved to be so heaVIly Incrusted with ticks as to produce scabs. '. No.6 exhibited an old scar on the neck which had nothealed but had festered and was still running when theanimal was killed by the lion. Its body length is also verychubby and short for a mule-deer. ' .
No. 9 was a large, ill-proportioned deer,much lIkeNo.1 and quite as large. ,Tarsus and leg measurements ~re
excessive. But the greatest disability was one antler wh~chwas broken and still growing, so that one tine was enterIngthe surface of the skull just above the left eye. The pres~ure
must have already been great. Such a pressure mIghtcause partial paralysis or even death, without the agencyof the lion. .
The last two kills on the list are both white-tails. How-ever, No. 10 showed a feature which needs no table toclarify. The hoofs on the two front feet a~d one of thehind were turned up in the manner of a TurkIsh shoe. Thesurface which these feet presented to the ground wasrounded and not in the least stable. How the deer lived tobe even one year old is a mystery. The queer curvature ofthe hoofs was due, no doubt, to some prenatal accident.
The second white-tail, No. 11, shows a set of measurements which obviously class it as a "runt." It' was almostunbelievably small when we pulled it out from under thepile of leaves with which the lion had covered it. Thebonesand structure of the deer, however, showed it to be fullymature and about two and a half years old.
There ~ay be a great deal of doubt as to the value ofsuch comparisons, but it must be admitted that the resultsare striking. It must be emphasized, also, that defects were
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 43
('
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO42 ]
44 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
looked for as much in the rifle killed deer as in the lionkills. The fact that, of the eleven deer, all showed abnormalor subnormal characteristics is almost too complete to bemere coincidence, and yet coincidence it may be. It iscertainly logical that not every deer which a lion kills issubnormal. It is claimed by many hunters that the lionkills at will and takes the best as he chooses. The evidencedoes not seem to support this theory.37 Often in the course'of this survey lions have been followed which were hunting.These were obviously trying to catch any deer they could.One lion made at least three attempts before he secured a
. meal.38 When he did get one, it was No.2 in the table, theone with the abscessed neck. Then, too, it takes the femalea year, or possibly two years, to teach a young lion to makeits own kills. As soon as a lion ages and gets the slightestbit weaker, he can not catch deer. This may explain in alarge part his turning on cattle as being an easy catch. Orporcupines, in spite of their quills, may present fewer difficulties than the fleet-footed deer. All this evidence seemsto show that the lion catches what he can, and that mayvery well be the less able-bodied prey.
It will be noticed by this report that by far the greatestpercentage of lion kills are bucks. This has been noticedby many hunters and denied by a few. 'Mr. Goswick saidthat, as he remembered, there were about as many does asbucks. This survey found that 84, per cent of thekills were bucks. Of course, there were many more killsthan appear in the tables, as most of the kills were too oldor too mangled to be measured. There have been manyhypotheses put forward to. explain this killing of bucks.Mr. Newell S9.says that possibly the lion is gifted with someinstinct of preservation for his food supply in not killing thefemales. This seems far fetched. A probable explanationis that the bucks, and the large bucks especially, are more
37. Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, California F'lsh an-([ Game, July,1918, 1>. 152,
38. Observed in the Mogollon Mountains.
39. Newell, David, "Panther:' The Saturday Eve-m:rl-ll Post, July 13. 1935.
'I
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [45
'apt to be alone or in couples than the does and youn~ bucks,which often herd in large groups. Then, too, the bIg buckslove to haunt the rims and broken country, or to lie up on arocky point during the day. This is exactly the kind ofcountry the lion chooses for his travel, and so the two mayvery well meet. The size of the buck seems to make nodifference to the lion, nor especially the size of the horns.Indeed it appears that those with large horns are morefrequently kills than those with small spikes.
RESULTS OF THE SURVEY OF SCATOLOGY BY REGIONSAND 'COLLECTING STATIONS
ARIZONABaboqt~ivariM otmtains
White-Tail Deer 3Mule Deer .. 1
Dragoon MonntainsWhite-Tail Deer .._ 1
Iforse 1'.1ountwins and Vicin'ityWhite-Tail Deer .. 1Mule Deer 16Cotton Tail Rabbit .. . 2
StomachsPorcupine 2
Mingus MountainMule Deer - 11Cotton Tail .. 2.Porcupine .. 2
(Leaves and grass in connection with above) 2Stomach Collected
Porcupine '.:.________________________ 1
Clear C?'eek and V'icinityMule Deer , '-_ 3Porcupine 2
Domestic Cow -----c-------------------------------- 1Cotton Tail __ .. ~------------------------------ 1Grasses 1
Catalina Mountains22White Tail Deer _' _
Porcupine '-__________________________________ 1Cotton Tail __.. ,;-_________________ 2
&
3
[ 47
54 0/028 %5.8%3.9%2 %1.6%
'J'±.70/0
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION
Wild Cow CanyonMule Deer 11
2Cotton Tail _
AI'II:ln Canyon, COppe1"aS Canyon, Falls Canyon, etc.White Tail 18Mule Deer 17Jack RabbU 2Domestic Cow 1Grasses 3
San Mateo Mountains• Mule Deer
Ver1nejo ParkMule Deer _ 7Porcupine _ 1Unknown from New Mexico 4
Totals from ,New MexicoMule Deer . 121White-Tail 52Porcupine 8Cotton Tail 5Domestic Cow __ --------------________________________ 2Gray Fox ~_______________ 2Jack RabI.it 2Skunk ~_______________________________________1Grasses ~ *3
Jemez RegionMule 'Deer 9Porcupine 6Skunk 1
TOTAL PERCENTAGES FOR BOTH STATES
Mule Deer _White-Tail _Porcupine -------Cotton Tail _Jack Rabbit _Domestic Cow _Others _
,~ Two of these specimens were later identified as containing the seeds of Opuntiaand Juniperis.
t These are the small mammals· of lesser importance and the unidentifiable specimens mentioned b~low.
11
1
74411
13
381612
1373
2311
~'i l-
I
----------------------------- -----__102
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Jack Rabbit _Domestic Cow
StomachWhite-Tail _
Santa Rita MountainsWhite-Tail Deer . _Mule Deer _Jack RabbU _Domestic Cow _Badger _-'- . _
Bradshaw MountainsMule DeerPorcupine _
StomachsMule Deer _Unknowns from Arizona _
Mogollon Region
Water and Spring Canyons and Granny MountainMule Deer ~ _White-Tail _Domestic Cow __Gray Fox _
Brushy Mountain and Sycamore CanyonMule Deer _White-Tail _Cotton, Tail _
74 Canyon, Johnston Canyon, Snow Canyon, etc.Mule Deer _White-Tail _Porcupine _
Total for ArizonaWhite-Tail ----- 35Mule Deer ---- 46Porcupine ---- 10Cotton Tail -------______________ 7Jack Rabbit ----------_______________________________ 5Domestic Cows ----_____________________________________ 3Badger --------________ I'Grasses - - 3
46 ]
NEW MEXICO
I
JI:I~
I:, 1'.
I r'"
~ I II'
: ,f1,1:,I1
',, '. "~,'
, 1.
if·1,q
',I'I,:: I
48 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
SCATOLOGY
The report on the contents of these dung specimens maybear some explanation. Of course, the idea was first broughtforth by the fact that every dung specimen observed in thefield contained hair or bits of bone of the meal represented,which might be identified. This identification proved acertainty under the microscope. It was hoped by thismeans to gain a much more complete record of the food ofthe lion than could be obtained by the examination ofstomach contents, which system had been used by severalagencies heretofore. It is so difficult to secure any greatnumber of lion stomachs that the percentages of such contents must necessarily prove numerically very small, eventhough extended over a period of several years. The stomach contents of such few as were secured, are placed in withthe dung examinations, as it logically appears that each oneof these records represents a single lion meal. Therefore,the basis of these percentages is a single meal and not asingle kill. Records in the past have been made to try ~o
determine by means of kills the food percentages of theAmerican cougar, but, as has just been said, this is verydifficult and takes a great amount of time. Also, very manyof the small kills, such as porcupine, fox, rabbit, etc., leavevery little trace after the lio~ has made his Itleal. An investigator might easily pass close by a small bunch of fur orfragments of skin, which represented one of these smalleranimals, and never see iL This has undoubtedly been thecase in the past, as records of the smaller mammalian life,which contributes to the food of the lion, have been veryscarce. .
There is no reason that the single meal may not logicallybe used as a basis for this report rather than the 'number ofkills, because, although a deer may be many times the size ofa rabbit, the lion may well kill ten times the number ofrabbits in a direct ratio. Every specimen which was found.and could be definitely identified as that of a lion was
, \
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 49
collected. Thus, the results ought to give, a fairly accuratecross-section of the food of the mountain lion in those areas.That there are deficiencies may be told at a glance. Only thecollection of a great many more specimens in widely separated areas will give the entire story and reduce the per-centages of 'error. '
As was said before, all the dung specimens containedhair with no exceptions. It seems that the lion, in the eatingof his meal, invariably eats some of the hair of his kill withthe meat. In a large number of instances it appears that hedeliberately ate large sections of the skin. Ofttimes, too,the specimen could be identified by large fragments of boneor hoofs which the lion had gulped down in his meal. Theporcupi~e, for instance, was very often represented not on~yby a number 6f quills, but also by the feet and claws of thISanimal which the lion had chewed off and swallowed. Justwhy the lion seemed to relish such indigestible tidbits asclaws and deer hoofs it is impossible to say. Grasses also, ascan be seen by a glance at the charts, are not uncommon inthe dung specimens. This is quite usual, and in accordancewith the habits of other carnivorous animals, such as, forexample, the house cat. The 'seeds, which are .found fromtime to time in the dung, are harder to explain.
The identification of the dung specimens by means ofthe hair was a comparatively new technique. Consequently,a set of primary patterns had to be fir,st drawn UP. fromknown hair specimens. It was immediately found that thedifferent types of hair could be readily distinguished onefrom another by means of surface cell patterns, root struchIres' and general hair shapes. Cross-sections of certain ofthe rr:ore difficult specimens also were made and used in theidentifying processes. The great bulk of the hair was thusidentified with little or no trouble. Some of the more difficultones required a greater amount of research and time, because specimens of that particular mammal had not beforebeen secured, or because the mammal was in an immaturestage. Immature hairs were found to differ markedly from
those of mature individuals. The unknowns fall, for themost part, in this immature category. Their identificationwas uncertain because of lack of known specimens of theimmature phases of certain animals.
The differentiation of the black-tail or mule deer fromthe white-tail deer by means of the hair specimens is notentirely certain. However, in most cases, this could be told,as the black-tail deer hairs under the microscope show adifferent shape of the body of the hair and the root from thewhite-tail specimens. The cell structure in the two kinds ofhair is identical. The identification of the other mammalhairs has been ascertained with certainty from known specimens, as has been stated above.
The dung specimens of the lion revealed other interesting things. For instance, in one from the Bradshaw Mountains of Arizona a small fragment of brightly colored orewas extracted. Several revealed stones and pebbles of varying sizes, and sticks and leaves were common, evidentlygulped down accidentally when the lion was eating on a killthat had been buried beneath debris of this sort. Several ofthe dung specimens were composed entirely of grass, showing from its form that it had been eaten deliberately.
The finding of bot fly larvae in large quantities inseveral of the dung specimens brings up an interesting question. From the form of the dung and the condition of thelarvae it is safe to presume that these larvae had as theirhost the animal which the lion had killed-in every case adeer. Such deer, to produce twenty or thirty or forty larvaein the small area of meat which the lion had consumed forone meal, must have been very heavily infested, indeed. Itwill be remembered in the table of deer kills that'the largebuck which is No.2 was heavily infested in the region of theneck with these larvae. The death of that particular deermight well be attributed to that source. The presence of suchlarge numbers of ,bot fly larvae in dung specimens picked.up
.in varying regions of the Southwest would seem to indicate
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [51
that other deer, weakened by such infestations, had fallenprey to lions for similar reasons.
The dung specimens do not reveal anything particularlystartling, except, perhaps, the large percentage of porcupine and other small mammals not hitherto credited asbeing large items of lion diet. Quite as interesting is thetotal absence of any record of horse or goat, for there is nodoubt that the lion occasionally preys upon these domesticanimals. Also, the absence of any record of elk in thoseregions where elk are found would seem to indicate that thelion does not prefer that particular animal. It may be that·the lion finds the elk a trifle too large for an easy kill. However, it is most probable that the lion, under certain conditions, includes the elk in his food list. It must be emphasized,too, that these dung specimens were in every case collectedin a country which was heavily stocked with domestic animals. The comparatively small percentages of domestic cowkills and the entire absence of horse kills are out of allproportion to the actual numbers of these animals that werein the lion country. In other words, in a country wherethere were approximately as many cattle as there were deer,the lionwould take his toll of well over fifty per cent of deerand one or two per cent of domestic cattle.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO50 ]
Common cotton-twil 'rabl>it:
Sylvilagu8 ntittali pinetis lSylvilagUB aud~iboni arizonaeSylvilagu8 audubon~ m~nor .SylvilagUB audubom ced1'ophtlUB
Undoubtedly all these species are represented in the dung specimens although from a micr~scopic examination of the hair structure,
, , h'it is at present impossible to distinguish between them by t IS m:ans.Cotton-tail hair may be readily distinguished from that of the Jackrabbit but further study only will provide a pattern by which thevariods subdivisions of these two general classes of rabbits may bedifferentiated. The cotton-tail was found to comprise close to 4 percent of the total bulk of the number of lion meals represented. This
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [53
This armament does not ke'ep them safe in any degree from the hungrycougar. As was mentioned earlier in this report, no full-sized lion waskilled and skinned that did not have porcupine quills in his paws and
. chest. In numerous instances this was true of the hind paws as well asof the front paws. The method of killing, which the lion uses in attacking a porcupine, is not well understood, but the lion eViden~ly does notcome out entirely unscathed. A few quills, however, do not, m the least,seem to deter the lion from the killing of further porcupines. The particular male lion from Mingus Mountain, it will be remembered, wasespecially fond 'of porcupines and evidently killed them co.nst~ntly.
This is undoubtedly, true of numerous other lions also, as mdlcated'by the dung specimens. Many old hunters were of the opinion that theyoung lions only made a practice of killing porcupines and skunks a~d
that as they grew older, they learned better. The results of th1sin:"'-:stigation would seem to indicate, however, that this. choice wasdictated more by the individuality of the separate lions than by.a.ge.Another interesting fact with respect to the porcupine is that the honalmost invariably chews off the feet of the porcupine. kill, including theclaws, and swallows them with the rest of his meal. In every case ofthe finding of porcupine remains in the dung or in the stomach .contents one or two entire porcupine feet were present, and somet1mesthe ';hol~ set of four.. This presence of porcupine claws and paws in :hedung specimens and in the stomach contents may at some time furnIshsome clue as to how a lion attacks one of these spiny beasts. Althoughin several separate instances whole deer hoofs were found in spe:imensof lion dung, just why the lion should eat such unsucculent port.lOns asthe hoofs and claws of kills cannot be said. It is useless to remmd thelayman that ,the lion's killing of porcupines is certainly a feature inhis favor, as the porcupine, especially in some districts, is very destructiv~ to forest growth. It would be well in any game control measurewhich involved porcupines to take the lion into consideration.
1. Only found west of the Rio Grande.-F. C. H.
[ 52 ]
OdocoileUB couesi-Sonora White-tail Dem' and Arizona White-tailDeer:
The white-tail deer are found, of course, in the southern latitudesof the southwestern region,l and it is from those general regions thatour records have come. The report on the stomachs and scatolQgy indicate a twenty-eight per cent average of white-tail for the lion. It mustbe noticed that, even in the regions where mule deer and white-tail areboth found,.the mule deer seem to constitute a slightly larger percentageof lion kills. This may be because of a downright choice on the lion'spart or because the white-taiis are fleeter of foot and harder to catch.
Odocoileus helll;ionuJJ rnacrotis-Rocky Mnnnta'in Mule Deer:
This species, as determined from the dung specimens and stomachcontents, constitutes some 54 per cent of the stomach and dungspecimens examined, a much larger percentage than any other singleitem. Other phases in the relation between the lion and the deer havebeen discussed before.
FOODS OF THE LION IN THE SOUTHWEST
Odocoileus v'irg'inianu8 rnacrouris-Virginia Deer:
This deer undoubtedly is preyed upon by the lion, likewise, in thoseareas of the Southwest where it occurs. Few of these areas, however,were covered in the scope of this investigation. The plains white-taileddeer, as the Marcrourus variation of the virginianus group is termed.undoubtedly finds a place in the food list of the lions of northern NewMexico, although none of this species could be definitely identified.Definite reports of the presence of Odocoileus texanus from the extremeeastern part of New Mexico and the Rio Grande section of Texas in lionfood lists were verified.
Erethizon epixanthum couesi--Arizona porcupine:
It will be noticed in the food percentages that 5.8 per cent of thelion food in the southwestern area was made up of porcupines. Thiswas probably entirely the Arizona variety of the genus Erethizon. TheNeQraska yellow-haired porcupine might possibly intrude upon thenorthern limits of the State of New Mexico, but this could not beverified with certainty. It is most probable that the particular genus orsub-genus of the porcupine makes little difference to the lion. Themain point of consideration is that porcupines in general are very slug-
, gish, relying entirely for theh protection upon their quota of quills.
Lepus bairdi bairdi-Snowshoe rabbit:
This species is found in northern New Mexico in some of thehigher altitudes. As lions were trailed through regions where theserabbits were fairly abundant and dung specimens were collected showing the pres.ence of rabbit hair, it is reasonable to suppose that thistype of varying hare adds its bit to the food of the lion.
The general class of jack-rabbits comprised about 2 per cent 'of thelion's food as evidenced by the dung specimens. As the habitat of thejack-rabbit- is somewhat different from that of the cotton-tail, it presents a different food problem~ For the most part, the jack-rabbits. ofall Species inhabit the lower country and rolling hills at the foot of themountidn ranges, rather than the high ridges where the lions range.However, this is not always. true as both the species, ere1nicus andtexianus, are known to range at least as high as seven thousand fivehundred feet, and some individuals were noted by this survey to be oneven higher ground. The lions, of course, often range lower thanseventy7five .hundred feet. So their respective habitats overlap, although not to any great degree.
Lepus alleni alleni-Antelope jack-rabbit:Lepus cali/omicus 1nelanotis-Plains jack-rabbit:
The antelope jack-rabbit, especially, is a considerable item in 'thefood of the lions ranging the Chiricahua, Santa Rita, Patagonia, andBaboquivari Ranges and other portions of southern Arizona. It isunfortunate that the data which has now been collected does not allowus to state with' certainty that the lions we,re using the antelope jackrabbit as a part of their food. There is no doubt that further studymight provide the requisite hair patterns by which these identificationsmight be made. The plains jack-rabbit touches the southwestern areaunder consideration in thenortheasternmost corner. The same mightbe said of this species; that is, lions are known to eat jack-rabbtis inthis area, and this species (melanotis) is undoubtedly representedamong those.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 55
Caballus equus~Do1nesti.cHorse:
No' trace of a 'horse kill could be found, either in the stomachs orin the dung. This, too, may' be ascribed to coincidence, and is butanother argument for further investigations. It is well known that
Domestic Cattle (of several species) :
Only two specimens could be identified as domestic cattle fromNew Mexico, and three from Arizona. This small number from boththe stomach analyses and the dung examinations may present· an
. interesting figure to the stockmen. It must be emphasized that everystation where dung was collected in all this area of the Southwest was.located in a: cattle range. The scrapes where many 'of these dungspecimens were collected were composed entirely of. dried cow chips.Various relations of the lion to domestic cattle have been noted before.If! the toll of the lion upon the cow is as great as is claimed by som.ecattle raisers such a n'umber of dung specimens could not fail to showthis large p~rcentage. Further investigations may indeed changethese figures, but it may be stated with certainty that they will neverbe as large as most stoc~men believe. With the cow, too, comes theconsideration of the ease with· which the lion may catch these tameanimals. It must be indeed a simple matter for a hunting lion to pulldown a calf. The fact that they do not do so oftener than they doseems to indicate that there is ever present a desire for "natural" food.One might argue, also, tha~ the lion, by a seeming instinct, hesitates todepart from his role in the balance of nature. However, there undoubtedly are single and individual lions which break over thisnebulous natural law and acquire an insatiable liking for domesticherds. It is ,mere coincidence that this investigation did not cross thetrack of such an animal.
I,
Ij
T,
I
} Black-tailed jack-rabb·it:
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO54 ]
Lepus cali/omicus ere1nicusLepus cali/ornicu$ texianus
is a very large figure comp~red to the position which has been heldheretofore by the rabbit in HOJJ food lists. The presence of the rabbitin such comparatively large numbers is due probably to the habit ofthe cotton~tail of relying upon his protective coloration instead of hisspeed. Also, the lightning-like quickness of the lion in a short spurtprobably is sufficient to overcome the speed of a startled cottontail. At all events, a lion can and does use them as one of his staples.Their absence or unimportance in former lion reports is probably dueto the fact that the kill of a rabbit by a lion leaves practically no trace.A few tufts of hair, a few small imprints. in the ground which the first
-rain will obscure make practically the only records of such a kill.This may be said, in general, of all the small- mammals', for .the lion'sstomach capacity being somewhat large, he counts as only one meal orhalf a meal anything smaller than a porcupine. The universality of thehabitat of the cotton-tail is also a factor in its appearing in the lion'sfood list. Deer may require certain set types of country more or lesswild, but the rabbit is to be found almost everywhere in varying quantities. Thus the lion is never, even on his longest cross-country migrations, very far from a possible cotton-tail meal.
2. McLean. Donald, Californm Fish & Gcvme, Jan., 1917, p. 39.
[ 57PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION
Castor canadensis 'rnexicanus-Canadian, Pecos, Rio G1'ande be,aver:Casto'I" canadensis frondato1'-Southwestern or Sono'I"an beaver:
Mr. Barker, the State Game Warden of New Mexico, supplied aninstance of the killing and eating of a beaver by a lion in the VermejoPark region of northern New Mexico on May 14, 1930. Mr. Barker wasfollowing a female lion when she suddenly altered her course andheaded over several ridges and rolling meadows in the direction ofsome beaver ponds. Upon arriving at the beaver ponds, the lioncarefully skirted the dam and the fringes of several of the pondsuntil she caught a beaver thirty feet away from the water. Shekilled it and ate it, fur and all. The fact that the lion headed directlyfor these beaver precincts would seem to indicate that she had feastedon that sort of flesh before.
Cynomys-Prairie dogs of different species:
B. Mercer, of the Biological Survey Rodent Control, supplied aninstance of the stalking of prairie dogs by a lion. As prairie-dog townssometimes occur at 9,500 and 10,000 feet altitude this may often happen. The important fact is that lions do not spurn even the smallerrodents. Further investigation will no doubt reveal that the lion doesnot hesitate to prey upon all the varieties' of rock squirrels, groundsquirrels, gophers,' tree squirrels, and chipmunks, when convenient.The scarcity of these last is no doubt due to their diurnal habits.
caught, and its stomach was found to contain the 'remains of, thecoyote.
Unknowns:
The specimens which have been labeled "Unknown" or "Unidentified" undoubtedly fall into one of the above categories. Their identification was difficult because of the immature nature of the hairs contained, or because of the absence of enough large sections of hair tomake identification certain. There is also a great probability that
3. Mills, Enos, Watched by Wild Animals. The author gives a record, of lionscatching grasshoppers, p. 194.
Grasses:
The presence of grasses of various kinds in the dung specimensis interesting.3 So~e of these gave evidence that, without a doubtthe lion had deliberately eaten large tufts of grasses. In other instances grass and leaves were accidentally eaten with the meat. Thecovering of the kill with 'large quantities of sticks, leaves, pine needles,and even dirt would necessarily mingle a certain quantity of thisforeign ~aterial with the flesh of the kill.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO56 ]
Taxidea taxus berlandie1'i---Texas or Mexican badger:
One specimen only of the badger was identified: from the SantaRita Mountains of Arizona. It was evident that the lion had made afull meal upon this badger which he had found, no doubt, at some distance from its burrow. Although there is only one instance of this inthis report, it no doubt oCCurs with frequency in many regions.
Mephitis estor-Common striped skunk:
A specimen of dung from the Jemez Mountain area of NewMexico contained the unmistakable long black hair of the striper!skunk. This specimen probably belongs to the species known generallyas the Arizona skunk. That this isolated instance is not a coincidenceis well illustrated by the tales of hunters respecting lions killing thesesmall animals. The" problem of the skunk is very similar to that ofthe porcupine. How does the lion approach this extremely difficultanimal and make his kill? That he does not entirely miss the barrageof musk which the skunk presents to an enemy is evidenced by thetales of "strong-smelling" lions which have been caught.2 However;the scent of the skunk, of whatever species, seems to bother the lionas little as, or less than, the spines of the porcupine.
lions can and do destroy horses upon occasion. It is hoped thatfurther investigation will reveal the circumstances of such kills.
Ovis aries-Sheep:Capra hircus-Goats:
These two domestic animals may be included while on the generalsubject of economic herds. These two are both absent in the dung orstomach contents. Stories of depredations against the sheep andgoats should be investigated.
Urocyon cinereoargenteus scotti-Arizona grey fox:
Two dung specimens contained the hairs and bones of the greyfox, which were found in the Spring Canyon region of the MogollonMountains of southern New Mexico. These may have been the resultof a single lion's craving for this particular kind of food. It is interesting to note that the grey fox is acceptable on the lion menu, eventhough it is ,only the work of an individual cat.
Canis "lestes-Arizona coyote or Great Basin coyote:
Frank Colcord, hunter, supplied a record from the north centralregion of Arizona, of the killing of a coyote by a lion. The cpy?te hadbeen killed in the regulation fashion, the meal had been eaten, and theremainder covered 'as a typical lion kill. The lion was trailed and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Periodical
Newel!, David, ",Panther," Saturday Evening Post, Curtis PublishingCompany, Philadelphia, July 13, 1935.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MOUNTAIN LION [ 59
Art'ides
Conklin, W. A., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1832.
Hollister, Ned, "The Louisiana Puma," P1'oceedings of the BiologicalSociety, Washington, June 16, 1911.
Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, "Revision of the Puma," Proceedings of theWashington Academy of Science, December 11, 1901.
True, F. W., Punw or Ame7"ican Loin, Felis Concolor of Linnaeus,, Report United States National Museum, Washington, 1888-89
,1912; January 3 and September 19, 1914; January, 1915; andJuly, 1917.
Scribne1"s, published by Scribner's Sons, New York, November, 1901.
I
IiI
I
TI,I
,;
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO58 ]
Magazines
California Fish and Game, published by the Board of Fish and GameCommissioners, Sacramento, Jan., 1917; October, 1917; July,1918; April, 1921.
Field and St1"eam, published by the Field and Stream PublishingCompany, October, 1911; March, 1912; October,·1914; January,1915; September an'd December, 1919; December, 1918; October,1921.
Forest and Stream, published by' the Forest and Stream Publishing, I 'Company, September 6! 1883; March 6, 1897; October 5, 1907;
November 14, 1908; May 20 and July 29, 1911; Sept~mber 28,
Books
Anthony, H. E., F'ield Book of North American Mammals, G. P. Putnam Publishing Company," New York, 1928.
Audubon, J. J. and John Bachman, The Viviparous Quadrupeds ofNorth America, II, New Yor:k, 1849. '
'Bailey, Vernon, North American Fauna--Mammals of NC'w MexicoUnited States Government Printing Offic'e, Washington, 1931. '
Hittel!, Theodore H., Adventures of J. C. Adams ("Grizzly'" Adams),Scribner's, New York, 1860, reprint 1911.
Ligon, J. Stokley, Wild Life' of New Mexico. Published by the NewMexico Game Commission, 1927.
Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, Mammals of the Adirondacks, United StatesGovernment Printing' Office, Washington, 1884.
Mills, Enos A:, Watched by Wild Animals, Doubleday Page Co., NewYork, 1922.
Pearse, A. S., 4n'imal Ecology; McGraw-Hill Book Company, NewYork,1926.
Seton, E. T., Lives of Game Animals, vol. I, pt. 1, Doubleday, Doranand Company, New York, 1929.
some of these unknowns may represent other species of animals whosehair patterns could not be secured.
It is most interesting to note, also, the entire absence of any s~rtof feather or evidence of any kill of any kind of bird whatsoever.
I;'
ZOOLOGICAL BULLETTNS OF THE BIOLOGICALSERIES
Vol. 2. No.2. Whole Number' 30. Maltby and" Weinzirl.' Some -observations on the lun'g capacity of 'young 'people living in' NewMexico, 1901.
No, 3, Whole Number 31. Weinzirl. Effect of altitude uponthe blood. 1901.
No.6. Whole Number 34. Weinzirl. Availability of NewMexico's climate for outdoor life. 1903.
NO.8. Whole Number 36. WeinzirI. Cold as a causal factor inthe blood changes due to high altitude: 1903.No.9. Whole Number 37. Weinzirl and Magnusson. Furtherobservations on increased blood counts due to high altitude.1903.
No. ]3. Whole Number 47. Weinzirl. Action of a high, dry,climate in the cure of tuberculosis. 1908.
Vol. 3. No.3. Whole Number 95. Weese. A correlation of the' environmental reactions of val;ious 'animals of the arid steppe.1919.
Vol. 4. No.2. Whole NUlllber 267. Allen and Schaeffer. The distribution of the human blood groups among the Navajo andPueblo Indians of the Southwest, 1935. Out of print. '
-------
,.: