Cougars, Puma concolor, in Ontario: Additional Evidence

Authors

  • Frank F. Mallory Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6
  • Rebecca A. Carter Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6
  • Jenny L. Fortier Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6
  • I. Stuart Kenn Ontario Puma Foundation, P.O. Box 580, 46 Tecumseth Street, Beeton, Ontario L0G 1A0
  • Linsay Weis Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8
  • B. N. White Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v126i4.1377

Keywords:

Cougar, Puma, Mountain Lion, Puma concolor, scats, hair, mtDNA analysis, hair-snares, Ontario

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the Cougar (Puma concolor) has returned to New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, and Ontario. An abundance of sightings have been reported for many decades throughout south-central Ontario, but genetic confirmation has been confounded by a lack of carcasses or DNA. In this paper, we identify (1) genetic evidence of a single Cougar in the wild of Ontario, (2) a gene (cytochrome b) and methodology to distinguish the Cougar from other mammals in Ontario using scats, hair follicles, and soft and hard tissue, and (3) a gene that can distinguish individual Cougars from each other and would distinguish populations of subspecies if they exist in Ontario. Potential Cougar scats and other tissue samples were collected from across Ontario, and hair snares baited with catnip and carnivore lure were placed in locations where Cougar sightings were frequent, near Sudbury, Ontario. We analyzed samples for mtDNA, and one scat sample from the Wainfleet Bog Conservation Area, Port Colborne, Ontario, was positive for Cougar. Evidence from archeological data and Cougar sightings suggests that the historical range of Cougars extended in Ontario from the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Ecotone south, primarily associated with the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome and the primary prey of the Cougar, the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the North American Elk (Cervus elaphus). The data suggest that Cougar distribution has moved north in recent times due to clear-cutting, along with their primary prey. Further studies of Cougar presence in the province are warranted.

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Published

2013-04-22

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