Mountain Lion Web Site:Population

Cougar Population & Mortality:

Five hundred years ago, new American settlers feared and misunderstood the mountain lion. After all, there were no lions in many of the countries of origin of the settlers. Consequently, they sought to destroy the cats, and by 1900, the big cats had virtually disappeared from the eastern half of the continent. The killing of livestock spurred the Animal Damage Control Act of 1931, which provided money and authority to hunt lions. Livestock concerns still fuel the debates between ranchers and animal protectionists. In the early 1960's, some states dispensed a fifty-dollar bill to each person who killed a cougar.

In 1920, a rough estimate put the mountain lion population at 600. Since then, more accurate estimates, based on field studies of mountain lions, revealed a population of more than 2,000 mountain lions in the 1970's. Today's population estimate ranges between 4,000 - 6,000. In 1990, California voters passed a citizen's initiative, Proposition 117, to protect mountain lions from trophy hunting. California mountain lion populations have grown since hunting was banned. Thanks to this initiative, called the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990, sport hunting of cougars in California is banned. Also, thirty million a year for the next thirty years is earmarked for wildlife habitat conservation.

A mountain lion's natural life span is about 12 years in the wild and up to 24 years in captivity. Natural enemies include other large predators such as bears, lions and , at one time in California, wolves. They also fall victim to accidents, disease, road hazards and people.

**Approximate Number of Cougars Killed Within States or Provinces, 1907-1978**
State or Province	Period	Minimum Killed
Alberta	1942-1964	885
Arizona	1917-1973	8,557
British Columbia	1910-1955	16,663
California	1907-1973	12,705
Colorado	1917-1974	2,007
Idaho	1928-1973	2,781
Montana	1921-1974	503
Nevada	1917-1973	2,198
New Mexico	1917-1973	1,283
Oregon	1918-1973	6,831
Texas	1925-1973	776
Utah	1913-1978	6,253
Washington	1936-1973	5,253