88 Mountain Lions of the Black Hills
and intestines. About the time the lion population became saturated, we documented
increased consumption of domestic pets (cats and dogs). Hence, lions had moved from
what was considered an easy- to- kill wild prey item to an easy- to- kill domestic prey item
(fig. 6.8; table 6.3).
Some evidence that might support how establishing mountain lions respond to
prey availability was collected from animals that died while traversing the prairies of
North and South Dakota (Thompson et al. 2009). We were able to necropsy 14 car-
casses of animals that had died from harvest ( legal or illegal), vehicles, removal because
of a prob lem animal by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, an elec-
trocution of a lion that climbed a power- line pole, and a nontarget snaring ( table 6.3).
These lions ranged in age from about 1 to 4 years. Of the total, 87% showed evidence of
interactions with and consumption of porcupines, but only 50% were consuming deer,
and some (14%) had consumed domestic cats. These findings closely parallel our early
work on lions located in the Black Hills and support this opportunistic pattern of forag-
ing by lions when they travel through unfamiliar habitat. Dispersing lions have been
linked to riparian zones while traveling across unfamiliar territory, so it should not be
surprising that this opportunistic predator would take advantage of potential prey in
these areas. Thus, we also documented consumption of beaver (Castor canadensis),
mink (Neovison vison), and badger (Taxidea taxus) by these dispersing animals ( table 6.3).
figure 6.8. Remains of a porcupine killed and consumed by a mountain lion in the Black
Hills. Photo by D. M. Fecske.