Cougar Predation

[Balam]

Predation on wild horses

"Even in a part of California with one of the densest cougar populations, M166 can only do so much. He has killed more than 30 horses since June of 2017. At the scene of one of the killings, he also killed a beaver. At another, a dove.
“This lion, he is just wired for horse,” said David Garcelon, president of the Institute for Wildlife Studies, which is collaring and researching cougars in Northern California. “It was one of those things where you go in the first time, and it’s ‘Oh my gosh, he’s taken a horse — look at this,’ and everyone is calling each other and you’re shooting pictures, and the next time, he’s taken two horses now, and pretty soon, you’re like ‘Everything he takes is a horse.’ One after another after another.”
Experts wowed by the mountain lion’s prowess at hunting horses say they only wish M166 was a she instead of a he.
“If it was a female, we’d be really excited because she’d be teaching her youngsters how to do that as well,” Garcelon said. “For a male, they come in do their business with their lady friend, and that’s usually the last of their involvement. It’s the female and what they feed on that helps the youngsters learn what they’re going to be killing and going after.”

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