In late February, CBS News Denver reported that mountain lion sightings were on the rise in Colorado’s high country. Lion attacks on people in the state and around the world are rare, but the story referenced an attack on a 5-year-old boy in 2016 by a mountain lion near Aspen.
In late February, CBS News Denver reported that mountain lion sightings were on the rise in Colorado’s high country. Lion attacks on people in the state and around the world are rare, but the story referenced an attack on a 5-year-old boy in 2016 by a mountain lion near Aspen.
Wildlife biologists around the world studying these big cats have had difficulty explaining why these attacks occur, even after tracking the predators with GPS collars. A study from Colorado State University and Colorado Parks and Wildlife provides new insight. Researchers found that while the animals are generally fearful of and avoid humans, hunger can dampen that fear.
The study, “Hunger mediates apex predator’s risk avoidance response in wildland-urban interface,” was recently published online in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
“These predators, including mountain lions, aren’t ‘hangry’ and seeking out back yards to find food, but there comes a point when a mountain lion is hungry enough that it may use back yards to hunt for food, similar to what takes place in the wild ,” said Kevin Blecha, who worked on the research in conjunction with Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists, while pursuing a graduate degree in ecology from CSU.
Read more at Colorado State University
Image: Researchers found that while predators like mountain lions are generally fearful of and avoid humans, hunger can dampen that fear. (Credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
