Mountain Lions of the Black Hills

Population Dynamics of Mountain Lions 55

can become fertile again (physiologically in estrus) as soon as she acquires sufficient
fat stores, then will breed, and a litter will be born about three months later (fig. 4.9).
We also investigated the use of placental scars for estimating litter size in moun-
tain lions (fig. 4.10); the same technique has been used successfully for bobcat
(McCord and Cardoza 1982) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) (Mowat, Boutin, and Slough
1996). However, our use of this technique came toward the end of our investigations

figure 4.9. Kittens at den site in the Black Hills. Photo by Dan

Thompson.