Research Notes: Long-Distance Dispersal by a Subadult Male Cougar From the Black Hills, South Dakota

Dispersal is the movement of an animal from its natal range upon reaching age of independence (Bekoff 1989). While subadult (i.e., prepubescent individual independent of its mother's care; Logan and Sweanor 2001) female cougars (Puma concolor) tend to be philopatric, subadult male cougars generally disperse greater distances (Anderson et al. 1992, Sweanor et al. 2000). This phenomenon occurs in cougars at 10-33 months of age (Hemker et al. 1984, Maehr 1990, Ross and Jalkotzky 1992, Beier and Barrett 1993, Sweanor et al. 2000) and has been suggested to take place due to competition for resources and avoidance of inbreeding (Logan and Sweanor 2001). Dispersal movements have been documented in most