Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation meeting Dec. 6

Chronicle Staff

Published: Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

The Black Hills Mountain Lion Foundation will hold its annual meeting on Dec. 6 at the Journey Museum in Rapid City from 1-5 p.m. A free to the public educational seminar will address the relationship between mountain lions and humans with two national experts on mountain lion behavior.  Dr. Hillary Cooley, a wildlife scientist from Washington, will present information on sport hunting of mountain lions and human/lion conflicts. Cooley conducted studies to determine if hunting mountain lions may or may not affect their relationship with humans. Cooley has been studying cougars for seven years. She received her Ph.D. from Washington State University in September.  Her research investigated the effects of hunting on cougar population demography in Washington State. She completed her master’s degree in 2004, also at WSU, during which she studied cougar prey selection. Before becoming a graduate student, she spent time in Wyoming, where she first became involved with cougar research. Brian Kertson, a wildlife scientist from the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the University of Washington, will discuss carnivore ecology and behavior, predator/prey dynamics and the quantitative assessment of wildlife/habitat relationships. He is currently engaged in an eight-year study of mountain lions in an attempt to identify the underlying factors that lead to conflict between mountain lions and people. Research efforts have focused on space use, movements, predation patterns and behavior in an attempt to identify the underlying factors driving cougar-human interaction and conflict. All interested persons who want to learn more about the relationship between humans and mountain lions in the Black Hills and elsewhere are encouraged to attend this meeting.