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Behavioural reactions of bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) to cougar ( Puma concolor ) attacks / Comportement du mouflon d'Amerique ( Ovis canadensis ) lors d'attaques par le cougar ( Puma concolor )
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Pelletier, Fanie Gendreau, Yannick Feder, Chiarastella |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Where large predators persist, predation is a strong determinant of ungulate population dynamics (Larsen et al. 1989; Lingle 2002; Robinson et al. 2002). Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and cougars (Puma concolor) are both commonly found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Krausman and Bowyer 2003; Pierce and Bleich 2003). Bighorn sheep use several antipredator tactics such as gregariousness, traditional trails and traditional seasonal range-use patterns (Festa-Bianchet 1991a). Moreover, they select habitats close to cliffs and steep rocky areas where they can escape from predator attacks (Geist 1971; Berger 1991). These antipredator tactics are likely more efficient against coursing predators such as wolves (Canis lupus) than against ambush predators such as cougars (Festa-Bianchet 1991a). In the last decade, several studies on bighorn sheep have reported that predation by one or more specialist cougars can strongly and unpredictably influence population trajectories (Wehausen 1996; Ross et al. 1997; Festa-Bianchet and Apollonio 2003, Festa-Bianchet et al. 2006). Ross et al. (1997) reported that over one winter, two cougars were responsible for 55% of all sheep mortality (16 known cougar kills of 29 mortalities) leading to a 13% population decline in a bighorn population of 126 individuals, while Wehausen (1996) recorded survival of 62.5% for nine radiotracked adult ewes during a period with cougar predation. Because bighorn sheep reactions to cougar attacks are rarely witnessed, the reasons why bighorn sheep appear highly sensitive to cougar predation are poorly |
| Starting Page | 160 |
| Ending Page | 162 |
| Page Count | 3 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1515/MAMM.2006.026 |
| Volume Number | 70 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://marco.recherche.usherbrooke.ca/pdffiles/PelletierMammalia06.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1515/MAMM.2006.026 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
