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By Liam Verster

UBCO study

Okanagan cougars to be tracked as part of study

Jul 26, 2023 | 11:45 AM

Several dozen cougars in the Okanagan will be tagged and tracked as part of a comprehensive study of the animals’ behaviour and predatory traits.

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) is providing funding for 167 fish and wildlife conservation projects in the province, and the big local one will be see 40 cougars in the Okanagan fitted with GPS collars.

The multi-year study will see the big cats tracked to better understand the proportion of deer and other prey they hunt and kill, as well as their movement behaviours.

The tracking program is being led by the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

“The project will be B.C.’s most comprehensive cougar study to date, with a focus on the predation behaviour, habitat use, and impacts of harvest on cougars,” project leader Adam Ford with UBCO stated in a release.

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“Cougars are one of the most important predators in B.C. for mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and caribou. In spite of their high profile in B.C., we have very little information on the effects of cougar predation on prey distribution and survival, and the effects of human and natural landscape change on cougar habitat use.”

Human landscape changes include road density, forestry, population growth, and community expansion, while natural changes include events such as wildfires and floods.

The project is being supported by the HTCF and the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC) through $70,845 in co-funding.

“Through this collaboration, we can fund more projects such as this investment in better understanding cougars in a changing landscape, and enable our project partners to deliver more conservation work that benefits wildlife, fish, and their habitats,” HCTF CEO Dan Buffett stated.

Steve Kozuki, executive director of FESBC, added “HCTF has some of the best expertise in wildlife biology and habitat management. That’s why FESBC is so pleased to collaborate with HCTF. Together we have improved wildlife habitat on numerous successful projects all around British Columbia. And we will continue to endeavour to assist wildlife to thrive and flourish for generations to come.”

The HTCF is providing $8-million in funding to support programs throughout the province, including the cougar tracking program and four others in the Okanagan.

• Restoring the riparian Black Cottonwood forests of the Kettle River Watershed – $40,400 (with FESBC funding)
• Evaluating how large-scale wildfires affect the distribution of owl species in the Thompson-Okanagan region – $83,918 (with FESBC funding)
• The re-naturalization of nluxʷluxʷɬcwix (Lower Trout Creek) – $78,940
• Implementing the Lower Mission Creek conservation and restoration plan – $108,271