Frequently Asked Questions

A depredation incident involving a cougar requires that a cougar is either immediately threatening to cause damage, in the act of causing damage, or one that has already caused damage to private property, including livestock and pets.

Cougars tend to drag a carcass to a safe hiding spot and cover it under leaves and debris to hide it from scavengers and to prevent it from spoiling. Drag marks can often be found near a fresh large kill. Cougars are also known to scavenge, so an animal cached by a cougar may not have been killed by a cougar. 

California: If the cached carcass is a domestic animal that is someone’s property, the depredation must be investigated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and officially ruled as caused by a cougar, before any actions (non-lethal or otherwise) can be taken to respond to the depredation. In most cases, it is not possible to determine which individual cougar, if any, was involved, so depredation permits for killing cougars are often not effective at reducing or preventing human-cougar conflicts. However, improved husbandry practices and permits to haze cougars are more effective.

Reporting parties, such as property owners and tenants, may report suspected depredation incidents using the online CDFW Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system, and by contacting your Regional office. A CDFW investigator (Wildlife Biologist or Wildlife Officer) will be automatically assigned for response, based on the geographic location of the reported incident.

For incidents in the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills, the Santa Susana Mountains, the Verdugo Mountains, or Griffith Park, please report to the National Park Service Mountain Lion Study by emailing SAMO_mountainlions@nps.gov or by calling 1-805-370-2317. In your report, please include the location and date of the cache sighting, and any photographs you may take of the carcass.

If a cached carcass is on a property and must be removed to prevent conflict, individuals of that property are financially responsible for carcass removal. Individuals with financial barriers may be eligible for the Cougar Conservancy’s Carcass Disposal Program.

Killing cougars on depredation permits is not a long-term solution to conflicts with domestic animals. When depredation occurs, it is not because of a specific “bad actor.” We know that all cougars hunt opportunistically and that unprotected domestic animals can present easier hunting opportunities than wild prey. The lethal removal of individual ‘guilty’ cougars will never prevent future conflicts because killing cougars doesn’t fix the animal husbandry practices that allow depredation to occur.

California Example: The National Park Service study of cougars in the Santa Monica Mountains has documented 17 properties that have experienced multiple depredation events, with 10 of those properties recording different cougars visiting the same sites. One property had at least six individual cougars cause a depredation over the years (Sikich, J. September 2021. National Park Service, personal communication).

If a lethal depredation permit results in the removal of a territorial adult male cougar this can result in less-experienced juvenile males moving into an area to vie for territory. According to data collected by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, subadult male cougars are the most represented demographic among cougars that come into conflict with domestic animals.

Cougars are opportunistic hunters, which means they will take advantage of whatever opportunities arise to take down and consume prey. This means depredation can occur despite cougars having access to natural prey.

Most hunting attempts don't result in successful kills, and wild animals often fight to defend themselves, which can result in a cougar's injury or death. In contrast, an improperly housed, vulnerable, and inexperienced domestic animal can represent an easy meal that can save a cougar much needed time, energy, and perceived risk.

Cougars don't prefer domestic animals per se, but many will prey on unprotected animals if given the opportunity. An analysis by the National Park Service found that most kills made by cougars in the Santa Monica Mountains were deer, and even cougars who'd been involved in multiple depredation events continued to kill natural prey. In the Santa Ana mountains too, deer was found to be the most common prey while the second and third most frequent prey species were coyotes and raccoons. 

Domestic animals free-ranging or in non-secure enclosures, especially those without strong antipredator defenses, are most at risk of depredation because they can represent an easily accessible food source.  

Reports from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife show that of cougar depredation permits issued throughout the state between 2016 and 2021, goats were the most-often depredated domestic animal, followed closely by sheep. Together, these species made up a vast majority of depredated livestock. This was also true in the Santa Monica Mountains; between 2002 and 2020, goats were the most often depredated domestic animal, followed by sheep, alpaca, and then llamas (J. Sikich, National Park Service, personal communication, May 2022).

It is the responsibility of domestic animal caretakers to ensure their enclosures provide adequate protection from wild predators, both for the protection of domestic animals and for the protection of wildlife playing crucial roles in the environment. 

There is no evidence to suggest that depredation increases the risk of a cougar behaving aggressively toward people. A cougar killing a domestic animal is no more dangerous to people than a cougar killing a deer - in either case, there is no connection to an attempt to attack people.

Surplus killing, when predators kill more prey than they can eat, is a normal behavior for predators including cougars, though it occurs only under specific circumstances. For example, surplus killings happen when a cougar can get into an enclosure, but confined animals can’t escape.

Cougars can easily jump fences less than 8 feet tall and can squeeze through small gaps in enclosures, or fall through unsecure roofs. In the wild when a cougar goes after a group of deer, they all have the opportunity to run, and a cougar is lucky to capture one individual. In an environment where animals cannot run away, a cougar’s natural instincts to chase and kill prey can be directed toward every animal that can’t escape. This occurs with other predators as well (such as foxes enclosed with chickens, i.e., “the fox in the henhouse”).

A cougar that depredates multiple animals in a night is not “bloodthirsty” or abnormal, but acting naturally under circumstances that are deeply unfortunate for the livestock and for humans, though they are preventable.

There are many ways to prevent conflict and promote coexistence with cougars and other wildlife at home and on the trail. Some strategies for reducing conflict with cougars include eliminating attractants, applying landscaping practices that reduce cover, installing appropriate exclusionary fencing and infrastructure, incorporating aversive conditioning and hazing, and keeping specially trained livestock guardian dogs. We recommend pets be kept indoors, supervised outside, and leashed on trails. 

See ‘Efficacy of Nonlethal Tools’ for a comprehensive list of coexistence tools and what we currently know about their effectiveness.

Instances of cougars attacking people are highly unusual and often overly sensationalized. Although rare, these events should not and have not been taken lightly. In California since 1986 – nearly a forty-year period – 22 people have been injured in interactions with cougars, 3 of which were fatal. In The United States and Canada combined, from 1890 to 1990, 48 human-cougar encounters resulted in injuries to people, while 10 of those encounters resulted in human deaths. From 1924 to 2018 in the United States, there were 74 injurious human-cougar encounters, 11 of which were fatal. (Stats updated as of Oct of 2022)

The Cougar Conservancy maintains that the most effective way to prevent these conflicts is to equip people with the knowledge and tools they need to safely coexist with their wild neighbors. Conflicts with wildlife can be prevented by being aware of one’s surroundings, being knowledgeable about proper responses to encountering wild animals, and by closely supervising those who are most vulnerable. While on the trail, it is imperative to keep children within arm’s reach, and pets on a short leash, near an adult capable of acting defensively if necessary. Even at home, when living in cougar habitat, children should be supervised at all times and kept within arm’s reach. 

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are rodent poisons that, when ingested, cause internal bleeding which leads to slow death. ARs are sold in the form of bait, and while they are meant to target “problem” rodents, other non-target animals are also enticed to eat them.  

Secondary poisoning occurs when predators consume the ARs stored in the bodies of poisoned prey. Some cougar prey species, like coyotes and raccoons, are also predators, and become poisoned secondarily when they consume poisoned prey. Tertiary poisoning then occurs when a cougar consumes a poisoned predator. 

The use of ARs is widespread in both residential and commercial sectors, and they are killing non-target species at alarming rates in California. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife found that over 80% of tested bobcats, foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, and 95% of cougars were exposed to ARs. Over 70% of these cougars tested positive for more than 3 distinct ARs, which suggests multiple points of exposure.

Experts doubt that the imperiled cougar populations in Central Coastal and Southern California can afford rodenticide casualties, which is alarming given the overwhelming prevalence of poison exposure in these regions. 

The National Park Service (NPS), as part of a long-term cougar population study, found that the deaths of seven cougars (as of October 2022) were directly attributable to rodenticide poisoning. Poisoning, vehicle strikes, and intraspecific conflict are the major causes of death in this small at-risk cougar subpopulation. 

More research is necessary to determine whether poison exposure contributes to other forms of human-caused mortality such as depredation or vehicle strikes, but a strong link has been made in bobcats between rodenticides and lethal incidences of notoedric mange, a parasitic skin disease.

Mange is a parasitic skin disease that causes hair loss and itching, and in severe cases can cause severe emaciation and death in affected animals. The mite that causes mange may be common, and under normal circumstances animals can spontaneously recover from mild cases of the disease. 

Severe mange has been linked to rodenticide poisoning in bobcats, and the link may also exist in cougars and other wildlife. The poison weakens immune system function in bobcats, which could cause mange-infected animals to have hypoallergenic responses to their mite infestation. Mortality associated with mange occurs through emaciation, loss of overall condition, or from secondary infection caused by wounds from scratching. 

The Precautionary Principle suggests that even if impacts are unknown, the use of pesticides and pollutants should be minimized just in case there are unforeseen consequences. Pesticides are designed to kill targeted organisms, but often have adverse effects on non-target species. 

When pesticides must be used, it should be with strict adherence to standard operating procedures for human and wildlife safety, and should include proper disposal to avoid polluting the environment. Pollution is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity on earth, and the bioaccumulation of poisons through secondary and tertiary poisoning leave apex predators like the cougar extraordinarily vulnerable. 

Although the exact total is not known, an estimated 100 cougars are killed by vehicle strikes throughout California annually. The National Park Service recorded 24 cougar deaths, including 10 study animals, caused by vehicle strikes in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding mountain ranges between 2002 and 2021. In the first 10 months of 2022, 7 cougars were killed by vehicle strikes in the Los Angeles area.

The risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions increases during low-light hours around dawn, dusk, nighttime, and in the fog and rain, especially in highly developed areas. This risk is heightened at these times both because of decreased visibility and because these are often the hours that wildlife are most active. Observing legal speed limits and other traffic laws, maintaining clear visibility through windshields and windows, avoiding distracted driving, and being aware of likely wildlife encounter areas promotes road safety and reduces the chances of collisions. Stay vigilant for oncoming wildlife and remember that deer often graze along the edges of roads and highways in close proximity to traffic.

Cougars and other wildlife are most vulnerable to vehicle strikes where roads bisect natural travel corridors — areas that connect one habitat patch to another. The placement of new roads can be planned to strategically avoid fragmenting cougar habitats. Existing transportation infrastructure can be retrofitted with overpasses or underpasses. These engineering feats are becoming commonplace worldwide due to their overwhelming success at reducing human-wildlife conflicts.