Nevada's mountain lions migrating to California

RENO, -- Many mountain lions in Nevada are migrating westward to take up residence in California, according to a seven-year study.

The findings ran counter to the expectations of researchers, who thought the cougars would have moved eastward from California to Nevada, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Because lions are hunted in Nevada but not in California, biologists thought more of the territorial predators would migrate east into habitat in Nevada made available when lions were killed by hunters.

"We predicted we would have more lions coming in from California. We were surprised the Sierra itself was a net importer," said Jon Beckmann of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Researchers theorize the animals could be drawn to California because the Sierra offers lusher habitat with a greater selection of prey than Nevada's arid mountains.

"It may just be more attractive to move into the Sierra Nevada," said Alyson Andreasen, a University of Nevada, Reno, doctoral student and a lead researcher in the study. "It's just conjecture at this point, but that's what we think might be going on."

California is home to an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 cougars compared to Nevada's 3,000.

The study, jointly conducted by UNR, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Nevada Department of Wildlife, used genetics to identify distinct populations of mountain lions in both states.

The findings were recently published in the online edition of Molecular Ecology.

Among the goals was to determine which areas animals move to at a greater rate than those that leave, and places from which animals disperse to other locations at a greater rate.

Lion population structures and history were determined by analyzing DNA from tissue samples taken from 739 lions in both states.

Scientists were able to trace lion movements over multiple generations, saying such information is particularly useful when it comes to managing cougar populations.

A team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Nevada, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife carried out the study, and found exactly the opposite of what they had expected.

The researchers had thought that the mountain lions would have shifted eastward from California to Nevada.

The Reno Gazette-Journal quoted Jon Beckmann of the Wildlife Conservation Society saying, "We predicted we would have more lions coming in from California. We were surprised the Sierra itself was a net importer.”

The researchers concluded that hunting of mountain lions in Nevada, and the availability of more prey in Californiamight have encouraged the lions to move westward to take up residence in California.

One of the objectives of the study was to determine which territories animals shift to at a higher rate than those that exit. The study also tried to find out the real causes behind their movement.

Nevada is currently the home of 3,000 mountain lions, while California has around 4,000 to 6,000 lions.

The study was published in the most recently online edition of Molecular Ecology.

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