Lion ambushes and kills wolf

US Biologists are searching for the cause of a mass killing of wolves by cougars in Washington state, a behavior very rare in nature.

Cougars in Washington target wolves from several different packs in the area. Photo: National Geographic — Cougars in Washington target wolves from several different packs in the area. Photo: *National Geographic*

A female wolf was wandering along a trail in northeastern Washington last summer when a cougar, hiding in the bushes, suddenly jumped out and attacked. After a fierce fight, the cougar bit into the wolf’s skull. It then hid the carcass and ate it later before disappearing into the woods, National Geographic reported on August 25.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has recorded cougars killing six collared wolves since 2013, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the 21 wild wolf deaths in the state. If the trend continues, the number would be significant and representative of the entire population in Washington state, said Trent Roussin, a WDFW biologist. The wolves killed came from multiple packs in different parts of the state.

Cougar predation is rare in the western United States, where wolves have been abundant since their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Idaho in 1995. Today, Montana and Idaho have five times as many wolves as Washington. Biologists at Yellowstone have recorded only two cases of cougars killing wolves in the past 28 years. Similar cases in Idaho and Montana were two and five between 2009 and 2012, respectively.

Wolves were naturally dispersed in Washington in the summer of 2008. Recent counts recorded 216 animals in 37 packs, mostly in the Cascade Range and northeastern timberlands of the state. Wolf packs generally have the advantage over lone cougars. However, cougars would have the upper hand in a one-on-one ambush.

The first wolf-to-cougar death in Washington was in 2013, a small female wolf roaming the Cascade Mountains. A cougar killed a 2-year-old male wolf from the Teanaway pack in March 2014. A month later, a 6-year-old male wolf from the Smackout pack was killed near a nest. Researchers also recorded the killing of a 7-year-old female wolf in 2019, and a nearly 1-year-old female wolf and a pup last September.

Biologists detected the trend using radio collars. When a coyote hasn’t moved in eight hours, the collar will emit a signal. The team picks up the collar and pieces together what happened. Initially, investigators look for signs of poaching, a common cause of death. They also check the crime scene for animal tracks, feces, and the location of the coyote carcass. The neatly hidden carcass suggests the crime was a puma. The autopsy confirmed it, with two holes in the skull.

Wolf-cougar interactions appear to vary by habitat. Researchers have found wolves killing many cougar cubs in the Teton Mountains. But cougars rarely attack wolves. Biologists have not documented wolves killing cougar cubs or pups in Washington.

Without a large enough sample size to draw conclusions, Roussin speculates that habitat differences may help explain the high number of cougars killing wolves in Washington state. The state has steep mountains, many narrow canyons and few open grasslands, which may give cougars an advantage. Other factors that could contribute to the behavior include cougar density or wolf pack size, he says.

An Khang (According to National Geographic )

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