Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) young male walking in the early morning along Boucher Hill in Palomar Mountain State Park.

A weekly walkthrough of what has been going on and a look at what is coming up!

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."

 — Frank Lloyd Wright

The view from the top of Mount Si looking down on Issaqua, Washington.

Southern California Mountain Lion Project Update

New Tracks Could Tell a New Story

On Friday the 26th, I was up at Palomar Mountain State Park checking some of the observation sites. The weather was not the greatest, in fact the fog was so thick that I decided to come back for the rest of the sites after checking the first. As I was walking along Silvercrest Trail, I rounded the second corner just past the trailhead and came across some new tracks.

Video of possible mountain lion tracks on Silvercrest Trail in Palomar Mountain State Park.

These indicated that there was a larger lion with potentially a younger lion following along. There were few tracks found that were consistent with this theory, however this could be because the weight of the young individual was not heavy enough to leave tracks were the older lion had. If it was in fact two lions, one young and one older, the most likely explanation would be a mother and cub pair. If we look back to the large tracks found along this same trail roughly a 30-45 days prior, this was a track that indicated a large male mountain lion, possibly 190-200+ lbs. The large male would more than likely be the dominant male of the area and potentially be the sire to the young lion. Obviously the only way to determine whether or not this theory is correct, I would need definitive footage or physical observation of the sex/age class of the mountain lions moving through this particular area.

Track of suspected large male mountain lion, found on Silvercrest Trail, Palomar Mountain State Park on March 7, 2024.

Frame from the above video, suspected track of female lion traveling with cub. Found on Silvercrest Trail in Palomar Mountain State Park on April 26, 2024.

The tracks pictured above have some details that some may assume indicate that these are from canids. For example, the first image above of the suspected male lion has impression from claws. This is something that is present almost always on all toes of a canid print. However, with the print of a mountain lion, they can be present when the substrate is soft enough to cause the claws to be pressed out slightly while traveling. As seen here, the middle two toes are the only ones with only slight impressions of claw marks. This makes me believe that they are in fact prints from a felid and with the size, mountain lion is the only species that would fit. The second thing to look for if there is doubt on whether a track is from a felid or canid is to draw a line from the bottom of the middle two toe impressions horizontally across the whole width of the paw print. Canid impressions, the line will clear the top of the outer two toes, whereas with a felid track it will travel through the top portion of the outer two toes. Because this is true for both tracks pictured above, my belief that these were left by mountain lions is further supported.

In the News Now

Joint Efforts in Conservation Have Been Successful at Keeping the Lake Sturgeon Off of the Endangered Species List

The US Fish and Wildlife Service published an article recently that outlined a few details of different conservation efforts that have been helping lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Not only to maintain population quantities that keep them from needing to be listed as endangered, but have promoted their return to historical habitats they were once extirpated from. Lake sturgeons' native range is middle to eastern North America making the recent Biden Administrations allocation of $70 million fish projects that support better passages between different habitats (for more on this read: Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $70 Million from Investing in America Agenda for National Fish Passage Program Projects to Address Climate Resilience and Strengthen Local Economies). Specific conservation efforts that have been instrumental in promoting healthy populations of lake sturgeon were mainly the stocking of lakes and rivers of the area with captive-bred individuals of the species. This was the the main effort the USFWS focussed on in their article, and was proven to be the most influential of the lake sturgeon's success. Other methods that aided in protecting these populations were protecting fish passages, habitat restoration, and habitat connectivity through the removal of dams. Removing dams is actually a popular topic in conservation right now with USFWS publishing another article: Deconstructing Derelict Dams that covers the Little River Dam removal along the Clinch River in Virginia. By removing these barriers it allows fish and other aquatic animals that are sometimes threatened or endangered species to regain access to habitat that is important to their survival. Overall, the efforts of multiple institutions and organizations have been the reason we are seeing good outcomes for our natural landscapes. The hard work and dedication of these individuals dedicating their time to these causes has proven to be imperative to the continued success of conservation and management goals.

To read the article on lake sturgeon by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) it can be found at: Collaborative Conservation Efforts Keep Lake Sturgeon Off the Endangered Species List

Supporting Local Art, Small Business, and Conservation all in one!

There is a lot of time, effort and expense that goes into creating images and working towards conservation goals that protect the wild places we visit. It would be an honor to have my work displayed in your home as a way to keep doing this work!

Sessions at JABCECC

Sessions at the Judith A. Bassett Canid Education and Conservation Center are able to be booked year round! Contact information for any questions on booking and pricing can be found through the "book now" link.