CWBM 2013: Volume 2, Number 2
ISSN: 1929-3100
Natural History
Photographic Record of Cougar (Puma concolor) in Ukalta
Dunes Natural Area, East-central Alberta, Canada
Gilbert PROULX1 and H. Loney DICKSON2
1 Alpha Wildlife Research & Management Ltd., 229 Lilac Terrace, Sherwood Park, Alberta, T8H 1W3, Canada. Email: [email protected]
2 53442 Range Road 222, Ardrossan, Alberta, T8E 2M5, Canada. Email: [email protected]
Abstract
This paper reports a photographic record of a Cougar (Puma concolor) in the Ukalta Dunes Natural Area, approximately 55 km
northeast of Fort Saskatchewan, in central Alberta.
Key Words: Alberta, Camera Trap, Cougar, Puma concolor, Ukalta Dunes Natural Area.
Cougars (Puma concolor) may be found in any area of Alberta, but
principally in the Rocky Mountains and foothills (Smith 1993). In the
past, however, it has been reported north of Edmonton, in the Athabasca
Region, at approximate latitudes of 54°30’ N-56°30’ N (Smith 1993),
and east of Edmonton in Elk Island National Park (Hoods and Neufeld
2004).
In June-July 2013, in an effort to learn more about the distribution
of small carnivores in east-central Alberta, we set 50 remote cameras
(various models) in 25 locations (2 cameras/location) within our study
area (Figure 1). Camera locations were situated in Elk Island National
Park and several natural reserves located east, south and northeast of
Edmonton, between 53°21’N and 53°59’N. At each location, we
oriented cameras on baits placed on logs or the base of large trees. We
placed one piece of pig fat (covered with a wire mesh) and spread peanut
butter to the target log or tree (at a height of <1 m). We programmed
cameras for 30-sec-long videos with a 20-sec delay between motiontriggered recordings. We left camera units in place for 21 days. Memory
cards were reviewed in the laboratory.
Correspondence: Gilbert Proulx, Alpha Wildlife Research & Management
Ltd., 229 Lilac Terrace, Sherwood Park, Alberta, T8H 1W3, Canada. Email:
[email protected]
On July 10, 2013 at 21:47 h, near the northern boundary of our study
area, a Bushnell Trophy Cam XLT (model 119436, Bushnell Outdoor
Products, Overland Park, Kansas, USA) and a Moultrie Digital Game
Camera (model M-990i, Moultrie Products, Alabaster, Alabama, USA)
recorded an adult Cougar walking on the baited log (Figure 2). The
Cougar was in the Ukalta Dunes Natural Area (53o 58’ N, 112o 30’ W;
Figure 1), a 65 ha area located 55 km northeast of Fort Saskatchewan,
Alberta, in the Dry Mixedwood Natural Subregion of the Boreal
Forest Natural Region (Natural Regions Committee 2006), Wildlife
Management Unite 250 (AESRD 2013a). The area is characterized
by the presence of Aspen (Populus tremuloides)-dominated forests with
White Spruce (Picea glauca) and Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) stands,
and is part of a mosaic of forest patches interspersed with agricultural
fields (Natural Regions Committee 2006). The area is rich in deer
(Odocoileus spp.) (AESRD 2013b, c), which is the main prey of Cougars
(Ross et al. 1997; Pierce and Bleich 2003). Knopff (2010) suggested
that Cougar populations were expanding to the east of the Rockies
and foothills possibly because of the increasing number of White-tailed
Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) across the province. The Cougar reported
in this paper was photographed approximately 1.3 km from the North
Saskatchewan River, a natural corridor linking the western foothills
with the east-central region of Alberta.
Proulx and Dickson
Page 81
Figure 1. Location of the Small Carnivore Study Area and the Ukalta Dunes Natural Area of Alberta where a Cougar’s presence was confirmed with
photographic evidence.
Figure 2. Single frame photographs from videos of the Cougar walking
along a baited log in the Ukalta Dunes Natural Area, Alberta.
Page 82
Acknowledgements
We thank Gordon Court, Alberta Environment Sustainable
Resource Division, for helping us with equipment and material, and
Parks Canada for allowing us to work in Elk Island National Park. We
are grateful to two anonymous referees for their comments on previous
drafts of this manuscript.
Literature Cited
AESRD (Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources). 2013a.
Wildlife Management Units. Available at: http://srd.alberta.
ca/FishWildlife/FishingHuntingTrapping/HuntingAlberta/
WildlifeManagementUnits.aspx
AESRD (Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources).
2013b. Big game harvest estimates 2012 – White-tailed deer.
Available at: http://mywildalberta.com/Hunting/documents/
WhiteTailedDeerHunterHarvest-2012.pdf
AESRD (Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources).
2013c. Big game har vest estimates 2012 – Mule deer.
Available at: http://mywildalberta.com/Hunting/documents/
MuleDeerHunterHarvest-2012.pdf
Hood, G. A., and T. Neufeld. 2004. First record of mountain lions,
Puma concolor, in Elk Island National Park, Alberta. Canadian
Field-Naturalist 118: 605-607.
Knopff, K. H. 2010. Cougar predation in a multi-prey system in
west-central Alberta. PhD thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada.
Natural Regions Committee 2006. Natural regions and subregions
of Alberta. Compiled by D. J. Downing and W. W. Pettapiece.
Government of Alberta. Publication No. T/852.
Pierce, B. M., and V. C. Bleich. 2003. Mountain lion Puma concolor.
Pages 744-757 in G. A. Feldhamer, B. C. Thompson, and J. A.
Chapman, editors. Wild mammals of North America. Biology,
Management, and Conservation. The Johns Hopkins University
Press, Blatimore, Maryland, USA.
Ross, R., M. G. Jalkotzy, and M. Festa-Bianchet. 1997. Cougar
predation on bighorn sheep in southwestern Alberta during winter.
Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 771–775.
Smith, H. C. 1993. Alberta mammals. An atlas and guide. The
Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
About the Authors
Gilbert Proulx is Director of Science at Alpha Wildlife Research
& Management, Editor-in Chief of the Canadian Wildlife Biology &
Management journal, and Chair of the international Martes Working
Group (sables, martens and fishers). He has a BSc (Biology) from the
University of Montreal, MSc (Biology) from the University of Quebec
at Montreal, and PhD (Zoology) from the University of Guelph. He is
a Certified Wildlife Biologist® of The Wildlife Society. He has worked
in most Canadian ecozones where he studied populations and habitats
Proulx and Dickson
of ungulates, rodents and carnivores.
Gilbert has published more than
120 scientific articles, 5 textbooks,
and 8 field guides (species at risk).
His main research interest focuses
on mammals, particularly in forest
and agriculture ecosystems, and the
development of new technology to
study animals.
H. Loney Dickson i s a
retired biologist and manager of
Environment Canada’s Canadian
Wildlife Service - Prairie and
Northern Region (CWS-PNR)
in Edmonton, Alberta. At the
time of his retirement in 2007,
Loney was the Chief of the North
A merican Bird Conser vation
Initiative (NABCI) for the CWSPNR, and Chair of the National
Shorebird Technical Committee.
He was active on various national
and regional, governmental and
non-governmental partnership
committees related to NABCI, and the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture,
and also conducted shorebird population and habitat preference
research during his career with CWS. Loney is presently an active
member of the Bird Studies Canada National Board and a past chair
of their National Science Council. He finds himself busy today as an
enthusiastic wildlife photographer, bird watcher and weasel researcher
in east central Alberta.
Received 21 October 2013 – Accepted 27 October 2013