Wolves and bears often get the conflict-prevention spotlight over mountain lions. We want to shed some light on these elusive cats, so we asked our Southwest Montana field specialist, Julie Golla, about keeping lions out of conflict. Before P&C, Julie worked on mountain lion research with the Mendocino Mountain Lion Project in California.
What types of conflicts happen between people and mountain lions?
In this region, we tend to see conflict on ranchettes with small livestock. These ranchettes are a few acres, tucked up in valleys on the outskirts of town, surrounded by forest and public land. And they’ve got two goats, a chicken coop, and a barn cat.
Mountain lions are evolutionarily deer-specific. Most of what they eat is deer-sized. They’re also good at catching small things like mice and ground squirrels. Goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, and things like that can be involved in mountain lion conflict. That ties back to the small ranches and farms—they have smaller livestock in areas that overlap with deer.
In other areas we’ve seen conflict with hikers and bikers, resulting in occasional injuries or even fatalities from mountain lions, but these are rare.
What are some of the main tools we use to prevent conflicts with mountain lions?
Livestock guardian dogs work for all the species we work with—lions, bears, and wolves. Lions are not looking for a fight. Before they investigate an area, they’re observing. If there’s any sense of threat, they’re going to move on. So if they can get away from an area where a dog is barking at them, or potentially going to give them a fight, they’ll be convinced to go somewhere else.
Another is human presence or its likeness. We use scare devices, like Foxlights (lights meant to mimic humans walking around with flashlights). These animals are most comfortable when they feel invisible. If there’s a light flashing at them, they think it’s going to spotlight them. They aren’t going to feel comfortable enough to come into the open or where they think people may be.
Night penning (putting livestock in a small enclosure that is protected or monitored) is good, especially if you have sheep in wooded areas where lions might be a challenge.
Electric fencing can work for mountain lions, but you have to make it so they can’t jump or climb over the fence. They’re great jumpers. If you have a good enough enclosure, electrification might not be essential. But we’re usually working on a multi-predator landscape where we want to be electrifying that fence.
Bear spray is now certified by the EPA as a lion deterrent, in addition to bears. If you’re hiking, biking, or running on a trail, you need to be carrying bear spray.
How does preventing conflicts with mountain lions differ from how we typically prevent conflicts with bears or wolves?
How many prey animals are attracted to the area is a big factor. If you have a bird feeder or vegetation that deer like to get into, the deer are going to bring the lions in. That’s one of the main things that brings lions into residential areas—they’re following their natural food. Then by default, the lions might discover you have a rabbit hutch or chicken coop in the back of your house.
The second factor is landscaping. Mountain lions are a stalking predator—a pounce-and-surprise or ambush predator. They need to be in cover to pounce on something. So if you’re worried about where your children or pets are playing, or where you want to put your chicken coop, open areas away from bushes or landscaping is going to discourage lions. The farther they are from any kind of hiding place a lion feels comfy in, the better.
How common is mountain lion conflict?
On a broad scale, mountain lion conflict is really rare.
But on a really localized scale, people might be hyper aware of mountain lions. If you live near lions, you might think about them and worry about them a lot.
Lions are purposeful in where they exist as far as food and their survival. That can include human-dominated landscapes. But mountain lions are pretty easy to scare off if they’re passing through, and you can take some preventative precautions.
