Allen Maximilian L, Croft Colin, Finnegan Shannon P, Warner Bethany H
Illinois Natural History Survey Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Champaign Illinois USA.
Western Nebraska Community College Scottsbluff Nebraska USA.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Jul 10;15(7):e71687. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71687. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Natal dens and neonatal behavior are a critical but understudied component of reproductive success in cryptic solitary carnivores. Mountain lion () nursery sites tend to be in remote and difficult-to-observe areas-as a result, there are few in-depth behavioral observations of neonatal mountain lions. In this study, we present detailed opportunistic observations from a week of continuous monitoring of a mountain lion nursery located in the Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area in northwestern Nebraska. Using a non-invasive video camera trap, we recorded 403 videos comprising 76 distinct bouts of activity. We confirmed the presence of four kittens during the first day of monitoring; however, subsequent recordings consistently captured three or fewer individuals-with most videos featuring one (50.7%) or two (34.8%) kittens. This variation demonstrates the inherent limitations of camera traps to reliably detect all individuals, potentially biasing abundance estimates that rely on repeated count data. Play (chasing, pouncing, wrestling, and tree climbing) and vocalizations (high-pitched contact calls by kittens and low growling purrs from the mother) were the most frequent behaviors we observed. We also documented allogrooming and autogrooming, as well as the mother carrying kittens in her mouth. Although no nursing or feeding was directly observed, prey remains found near the nursery on a subsequent visit confirmed maternal foraging and provisioning. Activity patterns were crepuscular overall but differed by mountain lion class and temporal resolution. Specifically, these patterns varied depending on whether we analyzed times from individual videos or the beginning of activity bouts, underscoring the importance of the data resolution used when analyzing camera trap data. Our findings demonstrate the value of camera traps for studying neonatal carnivore behavior and highlight the need for suitable nursery habitats as mountain lions recolonize portions of their former range.
巢穴密度和新生幼崽行为是隐秘独居食肉动物繁殖成功的关键但研究不足的组成部分。美洲狮的育幼地点往往位于偏远且难以观察的区域，因此，对新生美洲狮的深入行为观察很少。在本研究中，我们展示了对位于内布拉斯加州西北部吉尔伯特 - 贝克野生动物管理区的一个美洲狮育幼所进行连续一周监测的详细机会性观察结果。我们使用非侵入式摄像机陷阱，记录了403段视频，包含76次不同的活动片段。在监测的第一天，我们确认有4只幼崽；然而，后续记录始终捕捉到3只或更少的个体，大多数视频中只有1只（50.7%）或2只（34.8%）幼崽。这种变化表明摄像机陷阱在可靠检测所有个体方面存在固有局限性，可能会使依赖重复计数数据的数量估计产生偏差。玩耍（追逐、扑击、摔跤和爬树）和发声（幼崽发出的高音接触叫声以及母亲发出的低沉咕噜声）是我们观察到的最频繁的行为。我们还记录了异体梳理和自体梳理行为，以及母亲用嘴叼着幼崽的情景。虽然没有直接观察到哺乳或喂食行为，但后续访问时在育幼所附近发现的猎物残骸证实了母亲的觅食和供给行为。总体活动模式是晨昏性的，但因美洲狮类别和时间分辨率而异。具体而言，这些模式取决于我们是分析单个视频中的时间还是活动片段的开始时间，这突出了分析摄像机陷阱数据时所用数据分辨率的重要性。我们的研究结果证明了摄像机陷阱在研究新生食肉动物行为方面的价值，并强调了随着美洲狮重新占据其部分以前的分布范围，需要合适的育幼栖息地。
