Santa Cruz Pumas

Puma Tracker

Over the last 20 years animal movement data has become one of the primary tools in managing and conserving wildlife. Its helping scientists better understand the ecology of everything from albatross and bluefin tuna in the oceans to antelope and cheetahs on land. But how often does the non-scientist actually get to see and play [...]
Capturing a Mountain Lion

We’ve made a video of the mountain lion capture process explaining everything from looking for tracks to capturing and collaring the mountain lions themselves. If you’ve never seen redwoods glistening in the sunlight, or hound dogs picking up a fresh scent, or a mountain lion descending from over 40 feet up in a tree, then [...]
High-Tech Collars

Wildlife tracking devices have come a long way since the 1960’s. Back then scientists attached balloons to the backs of seals so they could follow them around the ocean by boat. Today GPS tags allow you do get dozens of locations a day on your study animals without leaving the comfort of your office (except [...]
Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation is among the top threats to wildlife worldwide. Think about it. Just about everywhere you go in the world today, there are roads, houses and/or farms. For some species like coyotes, deer and raccoons, this is a great thing. But for other species like elephants, wolves and tigers it can spell doom. Here [...]

When Pumas (Rarely) Attack!

Pumas are highly elusive animals and the chance of running into one is VERY slim. But, with the recent Cruz Alerts—text/call alerts sent out to students and faculty of UCSC about potentially dangerous activity—regarding Mountain Lion sightings near the UCSC campus, I think we should ease our minds a bit. Let’s consider the odds: Upon [...]

New Blogger: Daniela Rosas

Hello out there! I’d like to introduce myself as one of your bloggers for the Santa Cruz Puma Project. Daniela Rosas is my name and I am an undergrad at UCSC Santa Cruz, majoring in Environmental Studies. This is my second quarter interning for the Santa Cruz Puma Project (SCPP). My work includes sorting and [...]

NBC News – Santa Cruz Pumas

Check out Yiwei and Yasaman as they star in this nice NBC news TV spot about the project.

Ever Hear a Mountain Lion Whistle?

This gal has still got a long way to go before she can whistle like the people of Kuskoy Turkey but still, who ever sees a mountain lion whistle? I’ve been lucky enough to hear it a few times before. But this is the first time we’ve ever captured video footage of it on one of [...]