The history of cougars in Yellowstone National Park

Authors

William J. Ripple PhD, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, ORFollow
Robert L. Beschta, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, ORFollow
Luke E. Painter, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, ORFollow

Abstract

We synthesize reports of cougar (Puma concolor) killings, sightings, and related information in Yellowstone National Park from the early 1900s through the 1970s. Cougars were common before the park was established in 1872 but were heavily persecuted in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the park attempted extirpation. Despite being greatly reduced, cougars may have persisted, at least intermittently, in the park and vicinity at low levels from the 1920s through the 1950s, at numbers that were likely functionally irrelevant from an ecological perspective. More recently, in field studies conducted during periods between 1987 and 2017, cougar population densities were estimated at a robust ~2 cougars per 100 km². Today, a relatively high density of cougars suggests that they are an active component of the Yellowstone ecosystem.


Sintetizamos los reportes de caza, avistamientos e información relacionada con la presencia de pumas (Puma concolor), en el Parque Nacional de Yellowstone desde principios de 1900 hasta la década de 1970. Antes de que se estableciera el parque en 1872, los pumas eran comunes. Sin embargo, fueron fuertemente perseguidos a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, cuando el parque intentó su extirpación. A pesar de haber sido reducidos en gran medida, los pumas pueden haber persistido, al menos de forma intermitente, en el parque y sus alrededores a niveles bajos desde la década de 1920 hasta la de 1950, en números que probablemente no eran funcionalmente relevantes desde una perspectiva ecológica. Más recientemente, en los estudios de campo realizados durante los períodos comprendidos entre 1987 y 2017, la densidad poblacional de pumas se estimó robustamente en alrededor de 2 pumas/100 km². En la actualidad, la densidad relativamente alta de pumas sugiere que son un componente activo del ecosistema de Yellowstone.

Recommended Citation

Ripple, William J. PhD; Beschta, Robert L.; and Painter, Luke E. (2022) "The history of cougars in Yellowstone National Park," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 82: No. 4, Article 10.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol82/iss4/10