The Elephant in the room: What can we learn from California regarding the use of sport hunting of pumas (Puma concolor) as a management tool?

Abstract

Pumas (Puma concolor) in 10 western states of the U.S. have been managed through the use of a sport hunt. The rational for this management technique is that puma populations needed to be hunted to reduce threats to human safety, their livestock, and wild ungulate populations. We evaluated these claims with the state of California as a control, which has prohibited sport hunting since 1972. We tested four hypotheses: 1) Sport hunting reduces puma density, 2) Sport hunting reduces problematic puma-human encounters, 3) Sport hunting reduces puma predation on livestock, and 4) Sport hunting reduces the impact of puma predation on wild ungulate numbers. Results indicated: 1) Puma densities did not differ between California and sport hunting states, 2) California was the 3rd lowest in per capita puma-human incidents. 3) The per capita loss of sheep was significantly lower (t = 5.7, P < 0.001) and the per capita loss of cattle in California did not differ significantly, from the other 10 states (P = 0.13). 4). Changes in annual deer populations in California correlated with changes in other states (F = 95.4, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.68) and average deer densities in California did not differ significantly from the other states. We concluded that sport hunting of pumas as a management tool has not produced the outcomes sought by wildlife managers and may even exacerbate conflicts between pumas and humans. It is suggested that state agencies re-assess the use of sport hunting as a management tool for pumas.