Deer Numbers With Cougar in Area

[RyDe]

I was recently hunting in my treestand from one of my favorite spots when a cougar came by, hung around for a few minutes, didn't seem to notice me and then walked away. I'm concerned that the area now may be a bust.

I dont know how long the cougar has been there but I've hunted in the area for many years and have never seen any sign of a cougar. Am I fine staying in area or have my chances seeing deer greatly decreased forcing me to hunt somehwere else?

[mindoutside]

I'd say you have another tag to buy/fill

[Dick284]

The cougar is there because there are deer there, how much longer the deer will be there is the question.

[lyallpeder]

Was there deer sign in the area that made you put the stand there?

[daveyn]

Most likely the cougar, or its relatives, have been there well before you got there.

[Smoky buck]

Two of my favorite spots I share with a cougar. Still good deer numbers but when the cougar is around the deer hunker down and seem to limit movement. The cougar is not there all the time and the deer calm down when it’s not around

When I know the cougar is around I hunt different locations for a few days at least

[RyDe]

I've seen deer in the area for the last few weeks, before I saw the cougar. I haven't seen as many deer in the area as in years past but there could be many reasons for that. I'll give the area a break for a while and go hunt a few secondary locations.

[tracker]

In my favourite white tail area I come across fresh cougar tracks nearly every time I'm out (at least 4 times per November). I even caught one following me when I was dragging a deer back to the truck one year. I don't think it's made a significant impact over the past dozen years that I've been using the area and by the shots I count each day around me other hunters would probably say the same.

[walking buffalo]

Whitetails are very homerange orientated. They will not leave it for long, if ever.
Whitetails will quickly become accustomed to its presence.

My main whitetail area had nine cougars residing within ten square miles.
An incredible density that according to science is just not supposed to happen....
Worked with F&W and a couple dog teams to keep them in check.
Five that became too casual around people were removed over a few years.

The whitetails in this area showed a slight reduction in population, which was high to begin with. As the deer population dropped, so did the number of cats.


I see no reason for you to abandon your hunting location due to a cougar....
Buy a cat tag if your wmu has a fall season.

[NSDucknut]

They kill large numbers of animals, many many.

This is cited from a 2010 article on cougar research


"In studying cougar kill sites, the researchers publicized a couple of interesting details. One is that that female mountain lions with kittens kill more deer; the other is that adult male lions kill larger but fewer animals.

“We had one male cougar kill 18 moose in less than a year,” Knopff said.

Based on the Canadian data, the cougars killed on average .8 ungulates (mainly whitetail deer and moose) a week, an average of about 18 pounds a day. That statistic varied widely, though, based on the individual - from a low of .24 ungulates to a high of 1.38, or 18 to 41 pounds a day.

Those ungulates targeted tended to be young of the year or adults with yearlings, largely because they were easier to subdue.

Deer made up more than 75 percent of the diet for adult female lions in winter and summer. Adult males had a more varied diet, concentrating on moose (36 percent) in the summer and deer (44 percent) in the winter. All told, adult males targeted large ungulates for 62 percent of their diet. Subadult lions also ate more deer than other species, but like human teenagers they also varied their diet more opportunistically than adults.


On average, adult males killed an estimated 10,300 pounds of biomass annually compared to 9,400 pounds killed by females with young kittens.

[Pioneer2]

One less deer per week.

[Positrac]

I’m originally from Vancouver Island. If you only hunted areas where there was no cougars then you wouldn’t have anywhere to hunt. It’s the highest concentration of cougars in the world.

My advice. Keep hunting the area. If you stop seeing deer, then maybe move on. I bet you don’t notice a difference in deer over a season.