John Laundre's LANDSCAPE OF FEAR comes to mind as new research from U. Of California Researchers have determined that female Pumas who have their territories close to human habitation tend to kil 36% more deer and Elk than those who do not........Seems that the "Cats" concern of being hunted and persecuted by us causes them to abandon kills faster and leave them only partially consumed..............The article below seems to convey that this is a bad thing as more prey animals get killed than otherwise would............I pose this question: Is it really so bad that this occurs based on the fact that deer densities are ungodly high in close to human settlement?.............On the other hand, if indeed the female Pumas are "stressed" because of poor eating habits and therefore having compromised litters of kittens, then indeed the "landscape of fear" as it relates to us humans putting all types of stress(hunting, trapping/habitat alteration, etc) on these big cats is a bad thing

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/12235/20150126/fear-humans-drive-pumas-towards-wasteful-hunting.htm&ct=ga&cd=CAEYASoTMzg3MDUyMTMxMjUzNDAzODMwOTIaNTI1NjVmODUzZjRjOTZmOTpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNHl6KcB8xpul6bxzNWM-n0XkJP0GA

Fear of Humans May Drive Pumas Towards 'Wasteful' Hunting

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By Brian Stallard

Jan 26, 2015 12:24 PM EST

We all know that human activity can influence the lives of nearby animals, especially those top predators that now have to play second fiddle to our ever-expanding interests. However, a new study has shown that not only do our actions impact them, but also our mere presence may cause majestic killers like pumas to grow so fearful that they change their hunting habits for the worse. (Photo : Flickr: Tambako The Jaguar)

We all know that human activity can influence the lives of nearby animals,

 especially those top predators that now have to play second fiddle to our ever-expanding interests. However, a new study has shown that not only do our actions impact them, but also our mere presence may cause majestic killers like pumas to grow so fearful that they change their hunting habits for the worse.

What they found was startling. In areas near a higher density of human housing, female pumas in particular were found to kill about 36 percent more large prey - mainly deer - than the more "rural" pumas.That's at least according to a new and fascinating study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which details how, among pumas living in California, those living closest to humans were found to kill a lot more prey, but eat less of each kill, compared to pumas in more wild and secluded areas.

This was determined after a team of scientists from the University of California captured and tagged 30 wild pumas with GPS collars so they could track their movements. The territory and hunting grounds of these animals were then identified, breaking the pumas up into those that are living either near more rural or suburban human environments. The team also investigated kills, measuring just how much of each kill was eaten before a puma elected to slip away.

Strangely, it wasn't that the suburban pumas were hungrier. Instead, it appears that they are eating less of each kill - revisiting kill sites less frequently and spending less time taking their meals, compared to your average puma.

So what's driving these pumas to act so differently? Fear of humans, the researchers suggest, is likely the primary cause. Female pumas are generally more cautious when hunting and eating compared to their male counterparts, largely because they are expected to birth and raise cubs.

That, of course, leads them to making an effort to avoid humans, even if that means smaller meals.

Unfortunately, "the loss of food from decline in prey consumption time paired with increases in energetic costs associated with killing more prey may have consequence for puma populations, particularly with regard to reproductive success," the researchers report, saying that this extra caution may all be for naught.