Cougar hunting may end in Nebraska, but state will continue to monitor population
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NORFOLK, Neb. – Whether or not hunters get another shot at Nebraska mountain lions, wildlife biologists will continue to study the big cats during the next two years.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans to again use a specially trained dog to detect mountain lion scat in the Pine Ridge and the Niobrara River valley near Valentine this spring. The search will expand to the Panhandle's Wildcat Hills in 2015.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans to again use a specially trained dog to detect mountain lion scat in the Pine Ridge and the Niobrara River valley near Valentine this spring. The search will expand to the Panhandle's Wildcat Hills in 2015.
Sam Wilson, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's carnivore program manager, outlined the next round of research for commissioners during their meeting Friday in Norfolk.
Genetic analysis of the scat – plus hair, urine and blood – provides information biologists use to estimate the number of cougars in the state.
Similar scat surveys in 2010 and 2012 provided wildlife biologists with information that indicated the Pine Ridge in northwest Nebraska hosted a maximum likely population of 22 mountain lions two years ago. The estimate ranged from 16 to 37 lions.
The estimated $36,000 cost of the scat searches and analysis would be paid for with commission funds generated by the sale of mountain lion hunting permits.
Commissioner Norris Marshall of Kearney said although the Pine Ridge is at the southern edge of a larger cougar population in South Dakota's Black Hills, it's unlikely for the Pine Ridge population to grow too much larger because suitable habitat is limited.
Jim Douglas, the commission director, said the state's mountain lion population has potential to grow into the suitable habitat in north-central Nebraska's Niobrara valley and the Wildcat Hills.
About 96 percent of the state is considered unsuitable habitat for lions.
Mountain lions recently recolonized the Pine Ridge and may be recolonizing the Niobrara valley and Wildcat Hills, biologists say. The number of instances of confirmed cougar sightings across Nebraska has increased each year since 2003. Kittens have been documented annually in the Pine Ridge since 2007.
In addition to genetic information, biologists have recorded cougars on wildlife cameras.
Last year, commissioners used the genetic research results to approve the state's first mountain lion hunting seasons. Two six-week seasons were set in the Pine Ridge, plus a yearlong season across most of the rest of the state.
Hunters killed two male lions in January during the first Pine Ridge season. A female was killed during the second half of the season, ending hunting in that region.
Several Nebraska cats have been killed in recent years by cars and trucks on roads and by people who encounter them and feel threatened. Others have been incidentally killed in traps set for other wildlife.
The commission's goal in setting a hunting season for mountain lions was to keep the population steady or slightly reduced.
Thursday in the state Legislature, Sen. Ernie Chambers' bill to abolish the cougar hunt was on track for final approval, but a rare late filibuster prevented it from coming to a vote. The Omaha senator said he will now have to see if he can marshal 33 votes to cut off a filibuster and pass his priority bill.
Speaker of the Legislature Greg Adams said the legislation will return to the agenda before the session ends April 17.
Genetic analysis of the scat – plus hair, urine and blood – provides information biologists use to estimate the number of cougars in the state.
Similar scat surveys in 2010 and 2012 provided wildlife biologists with information that indicated the Pine Ridge in northwest Nebraska hosted a maximum likely population of 22 mountain lions two years ago. The estimate ranged from 16 to 37 lions.
The estimated $36,000 cost of the scat searches and analysis would be paid for with commission funds generated by the sale of mountain lion hunting permits.
Commissioner Norris Marshall of Kearney said although the Pine Ridge is at the southern edge of a larger cougar population in South Dakota's Black Hills, it's unlikely for the Pine Ridge population to grow too much larger because suitable habitat is limited.
Jim Douglas, the commission director, said the state's mountain lion population has potential to grow into the suitable habitat in north-central Nebraska's Niobrara valley and the Wildcat Hills.
About 96 percent of the state is considered unsuitable habitat for lions.
Mountain lions recently recolonized the Pine Ridge and may be recolonizing the Niobrara valley and Wildcat Hills, biologists say. The number of instances of confirmed cougar sightings across Nebraska has increased each year since 2003. Kittens have been documented annually in the Pine Ridge since 2007.
In addition to genetic information, biologists have recorded cougars on wildlife cameras.
Last year, commissioners used the genetic research results to approve the state's first mountain lion hunting seasons. Two six-week seasons were set in the Pine Ridge, plus a yearlong season across most of the rest of the state.
Hunters killed two male lions in January during the first Pine Ridge season. A female was killed during the second half of the season, ending hunting in that region.
Several Nebraska cats have been killed in recent years by cars and trucks on roads and by people who encounter them and feel threatened. Others have been incidentally killed in traps set for other wildlife.
The commission's goal in setting a hunting season for mountain lions was to keep the population steady or slightly reduced.
Thursday in the state Legislature, Sen. Ernie Chambers' bill to abolish the cougar hunt was on track for final approval, but a rare late filibuster prevented it from coming to a vote. The Omaha senator said he will now have to see if he can marshal 33 votes to cut off a filibuster and pass his priority bill.
Speaker of the Legislature Greg Adams said the legislation will return to the agenda before the session ends April 17.
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