CPW explores Western Slope mountain lion density and sets management plan for eastern Colorado

Story by Hank Lacey

The human-wildlife interface is one of the many challenges threatening the state’s big cat population.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife unveiled in November the results of a multi-year study on Western Slope mountain lions, showing robust population densities, while the agency’s governing body also adopted a ten-year management plan for mountain lions on the East Slope.

The density study’s results followed last month’s rejection of a ballot initiative that would have banned trophy hunting of cougars with dog teams. And the East Slope strategy largely duplicates CPW’s techniques employed on the Western Slope for the past several years.

Both the East Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan and its Western Slope cousin, finalized in 2020, will continue to allow human killing of the predatory big cats. During the most recent year for which CPW has provided data, human hunters killed 265 male cougars and 235 female cougars.

Mountain lions, also known as catamounts, cougars, or pumas, are apex predators, which mean they sit at the top of their ecosystem’s food chain. By preying on herbivores such as deer and elk, cougars prevent overgrazing and promote vegetation recovery, which in turn supports a wide range of wildlife. Research has shown that regions with healthy predator populations often exhibit greater biodiversity, as apex predators indirectly shape their ecosystems through a phenomenon known as trophic cascades.

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