On September 3rd, WildFutures Research Assistant, Alexa Boesel, interviewed Dr. Winston Vickers.

WildFutures will be hosting Dr. Winston Vickers and Dr. Quinton Martins in a free webinar on September 20th.  Register here.

Alexa: You have been studying mountain lions in California for a very long time. What inspired you to first start working with them?

Winston: I started in 2002 when I went back to UC Davis to get a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degree, focusing on wildlife population health and ecology, and anticipated doing my thesis in mountain lion health. I was spurred by an interest in large cats and carnivores and had assisted in some research in snow leopards, which I considered studying longer term. My wife and I had assisted an Earthwatch-funded snow leopard research project in Nepal with two PhD students. They studied non-invasively with cameras and tracking, particularly looking at predator-prey dynamics. However when I began my studies, mountain lions were the most locally available large cat in California (and North America for that matter) and UC Davis had an ongoing study in mountain lions, and thus they became the focus of my work.

I had started veterinary medicine with an interest in wildlife, with a preceptorship at the Oklahoma Zoo and then worked in a mixed animal hospital in rural North Arkansas. Then, I moved to California where I worked at a small animal and exotic pet hospital, occasionally working with wildlife.

Alexa: As a veterinarian, what are the most common diseases you see facing wild felids? And mountain lions specifically?

Winston: Being predators, mountain lions face a lot of diseases, as well as toxins, that their prey are exposed to. One example is Salmonella, which one lion in our study area died of. Another died of Valley Fever, or coccidioidomycosis, which humans can get in dry arid ecosystems. Our collaborators at Colorado State also study Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, or FIV, and other lentiviruses in domestic cats, wild bobcats, and mountain lions. Each of those species has their own strains of FIV, but our collaborators at Colorado State have detected a bobcat strain in mountain lions with unknown implications for the health of infected mountain lions.  

We have seen Feline Leukhemia virus (FelV) in a mountain lion which may have contributed to its death. We have also documented antibodies to plague in the mountain lion population, meaning the animals had been exposed to that disease agent.  None of our study animals have died of that disease to our knowledge, but that has occurred in other areas of the west. That is the same organism that infects humans occasionally in the western US and can be fatal. We presume mountain lions are usually exposed to this bacterial infection via rodents or other predators such as coyotes that mountain lions eat.

To date, we have not documented any major population effects from any particular disease, or any epidemics, but we are always watching for it. In one portion of our study area, we had a cluster of deaths from an unknown cause, but we suspected were due to an infectious agent of some kind, but we were unable to find a source.

Most deaths that we see are from car strikes, depredation permits and poaching. We certainly consider these in epidemiology studies. They provide an un-“natural” source of death, adding undue pressures to the populations that we study. Many of our populations are separated by highways, reducing gene flow, so genetic inbreeding and the potential for inbreeding depression and reduced reproduction also worry us a lot.

Alexa: What have been your personal challenges studying mountain lions? What has been most rewarding?

Winston: My personal challenges are primarily the difficulties of the actual work, and of funding the work. The work is physically challenging.  In order to capture a mountain lion in cage traps which is our primary method, we do a lot of hiking beforehand to find out via tracking and trail cameras where lion movement is occurring.  We bring in road killed deer as bait, sometimes carrying them long distances, and also carry in traps. We primarily capture at night, drive for many hours, and miss a fair amount of sleep. Getting funding is also challenging. The longest grants for projects are usually no more than 2-3 years, meaning that we are always on the search for more. Our equipment and time spent are expensive, with trucks, tracking collars, cameras, biologist salaries, etc., so grant money often doesn’t go as far as we would like.

However, the cumulative effects of our research has been immensely rewarding. Over the years, the research that we produced has affected public policy, making a difference for wildlife. We didn’t know much when we first started researching mountain lions. We were unsure there was anything wrong. One of the first things we found, is that there were many causes of premature death. Due to our research and research like it, we have made strides to reduce those premature deaths, documenting roadkill and depredation kill hot spots, increasing fencing along roadsides, reducing roadkill (including deer) which helps decrease overall car damage and money spent on repairs and increases human safety. We have documented the negative impacts of roads on mountain lion ecology, and therefore are making strides to reduce barrier effect of roads and genetic isolation.

To reduce deaths due to depredation permits, we have started to do a lot of work to educate owners of small livestock like goats, especially those who have just a few animals and who have the best potential for reducing the risks by bringing their animals into enclosures at night.  Working with the Mountain Lion Foundation, 4H clubs, and the UC Agricultural Extension program we are trying to educate people who live in mountain lion habitat on ways to reduce risks to their animals from mountain lions and other predators. The key is proper husbandry, which is important for kids to learn, thus the focus on working with 4-H.

Alexa: What do you think is needed to coexist with these large carnivores if they are to have a future in the Bay Area?

Winston: The Bay Area and Southern California have a lot in common in that they are highly barriered areas with miles of roads and housing developments and a lot of mix between rural and urban areas. In areas like Sonoma there are a lot of owners of small livestock that when not properly protected can be killed by mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats, That can then result in the wild animal being killed.

A big part of the solution is educating people, and getting them to think about wildlife in their life. When people begin to consider wildlife, it drives public will, which then forces public policy and eventually, regulates individual behavior as it relates to wildlife. Essentially its an ask, to vote for wildlife, and elevate wildlife’s overall status in the ladder of importance, including politically.

Another important aspect of our work is helping people appreciate the vital role that large carnivores play in the ecosystem. If they were allowed to disappear, it would change the landscape irrevocably, in a way that humans probably wouldn’t like.

Alexa: Is there anything else you would like to share about your work?

Winston:  I will mention that some of my work is with the Institute for Wildlife Studies in northeastern California in a much more rural area, which provides an opportunity for comparison between the two types of habitats. In northeastern California, with less roads and more livestock, the primary cause of death we are seeing is from depredation permits.

As you can imagine, in populations far from any humans that are not hunted for sport, the primary reason for death would likely be intraspecific strife, or lions killing lions in competition for territory or mates.  Interestingly, in the Santa Monica Mountains in southern California, in an area where there are certainly also mortalities from depredation permits and car strikes, the National Park Service researchers there have also documented intraspecific strife (mountain lions killing other mountain lions) as a significant source of mortality. The reasons for this are unclear.

I think work like Quinton’s and mine allows us to see the scope of challenges that mountain lions living alongside humans are facing, and try to make some difference in their chances of long term persistence on the landscape that we humans are constantly altering. ​

Alexa has been instrumental to the success of The Secret Lives of Mountain Lions, and we wanted to ask her a few questions about her participation and see how her experience has been. We hope you enjoy hearing from Alexa about what it has been like working on a project with the potential to affect large-scale environmental decisions.

​What attracted you to this project? 
I was so excited at the opportunity to work on this project! It combines my passion for wildlife, education and the Spanish language.

I have always loved wildlife. I grew up in and out of the garden, playing with insects. In my teens I monitored rocky intertidal pools and started working for wildlife hospitals, bringing home orphaned wildlife to be hand-raised until they were old enough to be released. In college I studied biology, neuroscience and behavior and dedicated my time outside of school to wildlife medicine. With this experience, I considered myself not only a wildlife advocate, but somewhat of an expert.

When I first saw this footage, I was surprised. The cougars in this footage completely shifted my perspective on the species, forcing me to reconsider so much of what I thought I knew about the species. I believe that this footage has the power to do the same for many more, and this is so important for the conservation of these animals. When our perspectives shift, and we begin to cultivate compassion for mountain lions, ceasing to see them as solitary and only aggressive creatures, we are so much more likely to create space and habitat for them. Like many species, mountain lions biggest threat to survival is human activity. Between developing natural habitats, and trophy hunting, we are pushing mountain lions into smaller and smaller pockets of their range. In order to change this trend, we need to change the way we relate to mountain lions, and the narratives we have created about them.  In shifting our perspectives towards mountain lions and other species, cultivating compassion for them and creating space, I believe we also recognize the humanity within ourselves.

What did you contribute to this film? 
In order to make La vida secreta de los pumas accessible to the greatest number of Spanish-speakers, I contacted several Spanish speaking biologists both in the U.S. and Latin America. Knowing that within Latin America, there are many different versions of Spanish spoken, we wanted to choose our words and descriptions carefully, so that the largest amount of people would understand. For instance, what I initially thought we might call the video, the direct translation of “The Secret Life of Mountain Lions”, is not what we ended up calling the film, or the term we most commonly used. In fact, most people throughout Latin America know Mountain Lions as “pumas” or “león americano”. Some do refer to the species as “león de montaña”, the direct translation of mountain lion, but this was not the most widely used word, so did not end up being used a lot in the translated script. Along with the help of biologists, friends and a professional translator, and many back and forth conversations, we finally settled on a version. I learned an incredible amount about the Spanish language and the skill of translation in the process. 

We were lucky to find Jorge Vázquez Pacheco. We cast a large net, asking our contacts in Latin America if they had any recommendations. We got sample recordings from radio show hosts, actors and others from all across North, Central and South America. We ultimately selected Jorge because we thought he had both a neutral accent and a very clear, expressive way of speaking. He was a joy to work with.

Why did you chose to work with WildFutures?
Previous to working for WildFutures, nearly all of my professional career has been spent doing direct animal care. Upon graduating from college, I set off to gain as much wildlife medicine experience as possible, moving from wildlife hospital, to exotic animal sanctuary, to zoo, learning as much as I could. While I loved the interaction of working with individual animals, I was ultimately somewhat disheartened by the scope of my work. I often could not do nearly as much as I wanted to, and what I was able to do ended with that individual. I found myself looking for work that could go beyond individual patient care, and reach a broader audience, potentially shaping the future for wild animal welfare. Luckily, I met Sharon and she has bravely taken a chance with me, allowing me to participate in this project which I so wholeheartedly believe in.

Have you ever seen a mountain lion in the wild? 
While I have never seen a mountain lion in the wild directly, I have had many close encounters with this species. First, when I was in my early twenties, I worked at a zoo as part of a veterinary team. Several times while there  I worked with a mountain lion named Johnny, who had been raised by a human family until they had to move and were forced to give him up. While we examined him he would purr and lick our hands through the fence constantly, always incredibly affectionate. Although it sadenned me to see him so confined, living a life so removed from that of a wild mountain lion, I still enjoyed opportunities to interact with him. 
More recently however, I have interacted with mountain lions in a different way. I have had the pleasure of monitoring the wildlife camera traps of the ranch that I live on. Nearly once a month we see the same mountain lion traversing across the property. He has an ocular defect in one eye and is known to nearby biologists as Harvey. Although I have never seen him without the help of the cameras, I get great pleasure in the knowledge that I share my space and home with this animal.

Legal Victory Guarantees Analysis of Wildlife Services’ Killings in Northern California
 
SAN FRANCISCO— In response to a lawsuit filed by wildlife advocacy groups, a San Francisco federal court today approved a settlement requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to implement numerous protections for wildlife in Northern California, including a ban on traps and aerial gunning in designated “wilderness areas.”
 
Today’s settlement also requires Wildlife Services to analyze the environmental impacts of its killing of coyotes, bobcats and other wildlife in 16 counties in Northern California.
 
The ironically named Wildlife Services is a multimillion-dollar federal program that uses painful leghold traps, strangulation snares, poisons and aerial gunning to kill wolves, coyotes, cougars, birds and other wild animals — primarily to benefit the agriculture and livestock industries.
 
“This is a big victory for California wildlife targeted by this federal program’s horrifically destructive war on animals,” said Collette Adkins, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney representing the conservation groups involved in the lawsuit. “We’ve saved hundreds of animals that would have suffered and died in traps set by Wildlife Services over the next several years. That feels really good.”
 
Under the court order approved today, Wildlife Services must provide, by the end of 2023, an “environmental impact statement” that analyzes the effects and risks of its wildlife-killing program in California’s North District. The North District includes Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba counties.
 
Pending completion of that study, which will include robust public commenting opportunities, the court order imposes several measures to protect wildlife in the North District. It bans the use of M-44 cyanide devices, den fumigants and lead ammunition. It bans aerial gunning and any use of body-gripping traps, such as strangulation snares and steel-jaw leghold traps, in designated wilderness and wilderness study areas. The order also requires Wildlife Services to implement several measures to protect California’s endangered gray wolves from being accidentally killed in traps set for other carnivores. These measures include a ban on Conibear traps and non-breakaway snares in areas used by the wolves.
 
“Wolves are just starting to return to their native habitats in Northern California, and this settlement provides needed interim protections to protect wolves while a detailed environmental study examines whether lethal wildlife ‘management’ options should even be on the table,” said Erik Molvar of Western Watersheds Project. “It is long past time that federal agencies stop the killing of native wildlife at the behest of the livestock industry, and ultimately we hope that the added public scrutiny will force a shift to nonlethal options.”
 
Last year Wildlife Services reported killing 1.6 million native animals nationwide. In California alone this total included 3,893 coyotes, 142 foxes, 83 black bears, 18 bobcats and thousands of other creatures. Nontarget animals — including protected wildlife such as wolves, Pacific fisher and eagles — are at risk from Wildlife Services’ indiscriminate methods.
 
“For over two decades, Wildlife Services has relied on cruel and outdated methods, such as steel-jaw leghold traps, in California — despite a statewide ban on private use of such devices,” said Tara Zuardo, Animal Welfare Institute wildlife attorney. “Today’s decision from the court ensures the environmental analysis of the program’s killing of wildlife will receive a much-needed update. California wildlife deserves this protection.”
 
“Wildlife Services’ lethal ‘control’ is ineffective, wasteful and cruel,” said Michelle Lute, wildlife coexistence campaigner for WildEarth Guardians. “We are changing this clandestine government program state-by-state until wildlife and people are safe on our public lands.”
 
“With this victory for wildlife we have demonstrated that Wildlife Services has failed to use the best available science and continues to rely on ecologically destructive and ethically indefensible management practices,” said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. “It is past time that this rogue agency shifts to more effective, humane, and ecologically sound ways of reducing conflicts between wildlife and agricultural interests.”
 
“Thousands of California wildlife will now have a much needed reprieve from the federal killing agency,” said Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “This settlement sends the powerful message that Wildlife Services’ indiscriminate killing programs will not go unchallenged.”
 
The victory announced today is the result of a lawsuit filed in June by the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Project Coyote, the Animal Welfare Institute and WildEarth Guardians.
 
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.5 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
 
The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are punished for their crimes; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information, please visit aldf.org.
 
The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people.  AWI engages policymakers, scientists, industry, and the public to achieve better treatment of animals everywhere — in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.
Project Coyote is a national nonprofit organization and a North American coalition of wildlife educators, scientists, ranchers, and community leaders promoting coexistence between people and wildlife, and compassionate conservation through education, science, and advocacy. For more information, visitwww.projectcoyote.org.
 
Western Watersheds Project is an environmental conservation group working to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife
 
WildEarth Guardians works to protect and restore the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers and health of the American West.

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Cougars have very long tails, which help them to balance. Do you notice anything that looks different about this cougar than many of the others we feature on this site? This cougar lives in captivity. You can tell by the fat belly, which you might recognize if you know any older domestic housecats, who tend to develop the same characteristic.