| ....Field study focuses on cougar-hunting behaviour |
By Susan Quinlan Southwest Alberta Jeremy Banfield, a graduate student at the University of Alberta, has been out stalking cougars for a study he's working on for his post-graduate degree. Unlike most who prefer to never meet up with the oversized cats, Banfield and his associate, Brent Sinclair, track and anesthetize them so a GPS collar can monitor the cougar's movements. The GPS takes a reading on the cat's location once per hour, said Banfield. When a cluster of readings shows the cat hasn't moved for some time, it's assumed it has made a kill and is taking the time needed to pick the bones clean. "What I'm proposing is that there are hot spots in a cat's range. They'll beeline to those spots when they're hungry. "We go back into that site, record the sex and age of the prey. From there, I look at the movements prior to the kill ... Five years ago, we thought cougars sat and waited to ambush their prey. Now we know they're stalkers." Banfield said once all the information is gathered analysis will reveal the predation success of cougars in varying habitats. It's important to study predation success, said Banfield, to increase knowledge of the predator/prey dynamic. For example, sportsmen would be interested in these results because the hunting activity of cougars affects the game populations they're scouting. Wildlife managers as well would be interested in the information, should cougar populations affect the balance of other predator-prey relationships. Banfield, a former resident of the state of New York, said he's enjoying the fieldwork, as it takes him into the wilderness around Waterton Lakes National Park. "I love it. It's an incredible experience. I truly think it will be one of the best experiences of my life. Southern Alberta is a beautiful place to be." Banfield's study will be completed by August 2012 |
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