The video below(click link) gives all of us a true glimpse into the struggles of orphaned Puma(Cougar) kittens trying to stay alive without their mother to teach them the necessary hunting and survival skills to make it into adulthood........."Although difficult to watch, these video clips provide unique insights into wild cat behaviors useful for the conservation management of cougars"..........."Cougars(Pumas) less than one year old rarely survive in the wild, and young cougars are disproportionately involved in the depredation of pets and livestock, as well as disproportionately involved in conflicts with people"

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH A 4-PART VIDEO
https://youtu.be/_qFVOv-ulzU

Cougar kittens with live prey (Mule Deer) - Elbroch & Quigley (2012)

Canadian Field-Naturalist Videos

SUMMARY OF VIDEO FROM AUTHOR MARK ELBROCH:

 Cougars are difficult to observe in the wild, and little to nothing is known about how they learn predation skills. These videos of two 12-month old kittens with a live mule deer fawn were caught on remote cameras in northwestern Wyoming. 

Although difficult to watch, these video clips provide unique insights into wild cat behaviors useful for the conservation management of cougars. Cougars less than one year old rarely survive in the wild, and young cougars are disproportionately involved in the depredation of pets and livestock, as well as disproportionately involved in conflicts with people. 

These videos hint at why: these 1-yr old kittens clearly lack the skills to survive on their own. Part 1 reveals the kittens' initial nervousness with the fawn, and Parts 2 and 3 reveal their exploratory predation behaviors, and social learning through observing each other (which has never before been documented for this species). 

One kitten is wearing a vhf collar, which was used to track her movements as part of ongoing research efforts. These observations provide evidence that cougars up to 12 months of age are unlikely to have developed the full requisite skills needed to efficiently dispatch prey, and suggest that managers should consider both mitigating the potential for orphaned kittens (through adjusting harvest regulations) as well as be prepared to take action to mitigate potential problems caused by orphaned kittens. 

For the full article, please refer to the Canadian Field-Naturalist.

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