Counting Pumas by Categorizing Physical Evidence

The occurrence of Puma concolor (Cougar) can be confirmed by detecting physical evidence (i.e., tracks, urine markers). However, determining the number of pumas responsible for creating this sign is problematic. We addressed this difficulty by categorizing physical evidence (sign) and applied this method during the Puma concolor coryi (Florida Panther) project. Three rules were used to distinguish individuals. (1) Gender was determined by track size or stride length; (2) time (freshness) was determined by known events within the past 24 hours, such as wind or rain; and (3) distance between individual track sets was used as an exclusionary tool to avoid over-counting. We evaluated accuracy by capture and by comparison to 3 other indices. This method can be adapted to count other large felines.