Conserving the Mountain Lions of Texas

[UngulateNerd92]

Dr. Patricia Moody Harveson is a wildlife biologist who specializes in the study of carnivores, including pumas.

I have always had a love for wild things. Growing up, my favorite animals to see were always the carnivores…coyotes, foxes, skunks, raccoons. And being from West Texas, I was fascinated by mountain lions.

I began studying the mountain lions of West Texas right after I graduated with my doctorate. I was awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to study mountain lion habitat use and transboundary connectivity between the US and Mexico. After that, I spent the next 15 years working as a professor and research scientist for the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University. As head of the carnivore research program, I was able to study a variety of species, but most of my time was spent on mountain lions.

In Texas, mountain lions and all carnivores are still treated like varmints, which is astonishing considering they have such incredibly important roles in the function and health of our ecosystems. The more we learn about them, the more we appreciate their role in the ecosystem that supports all life, including humans.

Conserving the Mountain Lions of Texas | Panthera

 

[Pantheraman]

At this point in time, I'm just glad people are trying to get them protected. And I think I speak for everyone when I say that the fact that the people of Texas are having to try making TPWD protect mountain lions rather than the agency voluntarily protecting them without being made to do so is downright disturbing.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is another relevant article.

Texas Is the Only State That Doesn’t Protect Mountain Lions. Should That Change?

Proposed regulations have prompted an intense backlash from hunters, trappers, and landowners.

When filmmaker Ben Masters set out to find mountain lions for his 2022 wildlife documentary, Deep in the Heart, his main objective was capturing footage of the elusive predators. There are likely only several hundred of the cats in Texas—the majority in West Texas—and sightings are relatively rare. Masters wanted Texans to see the majesty of the mountain lion, also known as the cougar, panther, or puma, which can weigh up to 140 pounds or more, patrol one hundred square miles or more, and take down prey several times its size. He got his wish. But it wasn’t easy. “They were extremely difficult to film,” he recently said. “Much more difficult than ocelots.”

Texas Is the Only State That Doesn’t Protect Mountain Lions. Should That Change?