Cougars whose living space is occupied by humans are dying: Promising project has begun
0http://shorturl.at/nMPS7 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdI64z4KvNQr9C1NlDauJ9A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdI64z4KvNQr9C1NlDauJ9A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdI64z4KvNQr9C1NlDauJ9A Cougars whose living space is occupied by humans are dying: Promising project has begun
Humanity is increasingly restricting wildlife due to the habitat destruction it causes. The disappearance of wildlife is disrupting the ecosystem and causing the world to come to an end faster. Among these animals, cougars in Washington state, located on the US-Canada border, either get injured or die while crossing the street due to busy highways. As a result, their population is declining. Local authorities and scientists cooperated to prevent the situation. In this context, bridges will be built on the highways that will allow pumas to pass.
Howling dogs picked up the scent of a cougar and led the researchers deep into the forest, where the steep hills were covered with cedars and snow-covered ferns.
The dogs chased Lilu, a 37-pound cougar (a 37-pound cougar) who needed a new battery on a leash, up a tree. After being hit by a calming arrow, the sluggish Lului climbed the tree and fell asleep. The team changed her leash to examine Lilu, and then followed a call to wake her up. drug injected.
This was part of a day's work for the Olympic Cougar Project, a partnership between a coalition of Native American tribes, a renowned cougar expert, and the Washington Department of Transportation.
BUILDING A NEW PATH TO WILDLIFE
The project aims to build a new road on top of a busy highway so that wandering cougars, also known as mountain lions or cougars, can find new places to breed and improve the ecosystem. Cougars live endangered in an area occupied by humans, from Canada to the Tierra del Fuego region in southern Argentina.
THEY FORM A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM
Mark Elbroch, one of the world's leading puma experts with Panthera, a wildcat conservation group that is part of the Olympic Cougar Project, said: "Without a doubt, mountain lions improve the health of ecosystems and they are very important. When a cougar kills a large mammal such as deer or elk, the entire carcass can't eat.
From the top predators, golden eagles, bald eagles, ravens, crows and other birds feed on these scraps. Mammals such as bears, weasels, lynx, and jackals; and this is also true for a series of vertebrae, which includes all kinds of insects," he said.
That said, cougars help fertilize plant species in the woods, Elbroch said.
On the other hand, Vanessa Castle, a Lower Elwha Klallam tribal member who worked on the project, said, "As Indigenous people, we have been taught that we must walk in two worlds, one traditional and the other representing today's modern understanding. I think this idea could change the way scientists think about cougars."
REPRODUCTIVE RATES ARE SHALLING LOWER
Biologists said the big cats on the Olympic Peninsula in northern Washington state have lower genetic diversity than the rest of Washington state, as they are flanked by the Interstate 5 highway and cut off from their natural breeding partners in the Cascade mountains.
To create a safe passageway for cougars, scientists began tracking the animals by wearing GPS collars, which provided lots of useful data. Lilu is among about 60 leash cougars tracked in this way on the peninsula. The exact population of cougars in the region is not known.
"The collars we've developed give us information we can't get any other way," said wildlife biologist Kim Sager-Fradkin.
On the other hand, experts said that about 100,000 cars passing through Interstate 5 every day prevent pumas and other wild animals from crossing the road.
"The road poses one of the worst obstacles for any species in the state," said habitat link biologist Glen Kalisz of the Washington state Department of Transportation.
Now scientists are building a new way for pumas and other animals to communicate with each other on both sides of US Highway 101, which passes 350,000 vehicles a day. nonstop news
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdI64z4KvNQr9C1NlDauJ9A