orphan cubs relocated (Black Hills)

[Emily]

from the Rapid City Journal
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 316971.txt

Cougar orphans wear out welcome
Mountain lion cubs moved from Pringle home site
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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The three orphaned mountain lion cubs found hanging around a Pringle residence last November grew old enough and big enough to wear out their welcome and have since been moved.

Although they did not cause any specific problems, the lions were taken last month to a more remote location about 15 miles away, according to South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks regional supervisor Mike Kintigh.

"As they grew, the owners of the residence became a little more concerned," he said. "We did relocate them to an area that was a little more remote."

The cubs were believed to have been orphaned after the 16th female of the 2007 mountain lion-hunting season was killed Nov. 23. The young cats showed up soon after the female was killed and continued to linger near the kill site, feeding on scraps of meat the Pringle resident had thrown out for his own pets.

The resident did not want to be identified.

After being notified of the situation, GF&P officials immediately radio-collared the cubs and moved them a mile, leaving them a deer carcass to feed on. But they came back a day later, and GF&P officials made the decision to let them stay in the area and continue to monitor them.

GF&P officials decided that was a better option than euthanizing the cats or putting them in a zoo.

Kintigh said the three young lions continued to stay in the area and occasionally showed up in the Pringle resident's yard until GF&P decided to remove them Jan. 14.

"They were coming up into his backyard -- his patio area -- and lounging and playing," he said.

The Pringle resident was getting somewhat nervous about the cats' size and "more rambunctious" playing, even though they had not preyed on domestic pets or caused other problems, Kintigh said. He said they would flee the area if a human showed up.

The cats, all three males, would likely have dispersed eventually anyway, he said.

When GF&P officials first weighed the cubs after finding them Nov. 23, two were at a somewhat malnourished 20 pounds, but the other one was about 40 pounds. The cats are now seemingly healthy at about 80 pounds each, Kintigh said.

Kintigh said the GF&P had been supplementing the lions with a deer carcass while they were living near the Pringle resident, and it did so after moving the cats. But the GF&P quit providing carcasses because another group of lions began feeding on them.

Kintigh said he is "very confident" in their ability to hunt on their own.

He said the deer carcasses were meant to supplement the lions' diet, because their mother was killed at an age when she likely would have still been feeding them.

"We weren't trying to provide them every single meal that they needed," he said. "We wanted to help them but also make them do some of it on their own."

Hunting is a natural instinct not necessarily taught by the mother, Kintigh said, and is something the young lions have been doing and will continue to do.

He said it remains to be seen what would happen to the lions if it was determined they were not able to hunt on their own. Putting them in a zoo is probably not an option, he said.

The cats were between 3 and 3 1/2 months old the first time GF&P dealt with them, They are now between 8 and 9 months.

Kintigh said it's hard to say whether the cats will end up as problem lions. They don't seem to be any more inclined to bother humans than other lions, he said, adding that it's hard to predict the behavior of any particular mountain lion.

"Will they be a problem in the future? I can't say," he said. "I don't think that they've imprinted on people as a food source, that they're going to walk up to somebody's house and wait for handouts."

If the lions do end up causing problems, they will not get special treatment, Kintigh said "I'm not going to treat these any differently just because we've had more involvement with them than other lions," he said.

The lions have remained in the area that they were moved to. Kintigh said his staff will continue to monitor them using radio collars.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com