Mountain Lions of the Black Hills

72 Mountain Lions of the Black Hills

domestic cats, actions that became more common when the population was believed
to be saturated (e.g., 2005). Unfortunately, we were only able to conclude that these
lions suffered from a “nonspecific uveitis,” which dis appeared from the population as
quickly as it had arisen, once the lion population had begun to decline owing to hunter
harvest. Although unconfirmed, the disease could be related to the relatively high prev-
alence of feline calicivirus (about 5% based on ocular swab samples [table 5.1]; about
27% based on blood sera samples [ table 5.2])., documented concurrent with the uveitis
in the lion population (Jansen 2011). However, lions and other cats affected by feline
calicivirus most commonly display influenza- like symptoms and not the cloudy- eye
syndrome we had documented. Other potential pathogens (i.e., Herpes, Mycoplasma),
in addition to Chlamydia, also were extremely rare in these lions ( table 5.1).
Because of the methods used to collect data for our proj ects, we rarely came in di-
rect contact with research animals for extended periods of time (except during initial
radio- collaring or re- radio- collaring episodes) and therefore had few or no observations

Table 5.1. Exposure frequencies and sample sizes of disease- causing organisms

in ocular swab samples from both eyes of mountain lions (Puma concolor) sampled

in the Black Hills, South Dakota, 2006–2009

Sex

% Positive (npositive/ntotal)

Feline herpes virus Mycoplasma spp. Chlamydophila felis Feline calicivirus

Female 1.8 (1/57) 1.8 (1/55) 0.0 (0/55) 5.5 (3/55)
Male 2.6 (1/38) 0.0 (0/30) 0.0 (0/30) 3.3 (1/30)
Both sexes 2.1 (2/95) 1.2 (1/85) 0.0 (0/85) 4.7 (4/85 )

Source: Jansen 2011.

Table 5.2. Percent of mountain lions with positive titers for disease- causing viruses

in blood sera in the Black Hills from 2006–2009

Sex Age

% Positive

FIV FLV FHV FCV F/CPV CDV Plague

F SA 0 11.1 55.6 0
F A 15.2 34.2 9 7. 4 15.8
F Alla 14.0 0.0 0.0 30.6 85.7 16.3 0.0
M SA 0 26.7 73.3 0
M A 22.2 18.8 93.8 43.8
M Alla 10.3 2.6 2.8 22.2 75.0 19.4 0.0
All Alla 12.5 1.0 1.2 2 7. 1 81.2 1 7. 6 0.0

Source: Jansen 2011.
Notes: Age: SA = subadult, 1–3 yrs. old; A = adult, >3 yrs. old; All = both ages combined.
Viruses: FIV = feline immunodeficiency virus, FLV = feline leukemia virus, FHV = feline herpes virus,
FCV = feline calicivirus, F/CPV = feline/canine nonspecific parvo virus, CDV = canine distemper virus,
Plaguea = Yersinia pestis.
Includes small number of kittens (<1 yr. old).