Human–Cougar interactions in the wildland–urban interface of Colorado's front range

As human populations continue to expand across the world, the need to understand and manage wildlife populations within the wildland–urban interface is becoming commonplace. This is especially true for large carnivores as these species are not always tolerated by the public and can pose a risk to human safety. Unfortunately, information on wildlife species within the wildland–urban interface is sparse, and knowledge from wildland ecosystems does not always translate well to human‐dominated systems. Across western North America, cougars (Puma concolor) are routinely utilizing wildland–urban habitats while human use of these areas for homes and recreation is increasing. From 2007 to 2015, we studied cougar resource selection, human–cougar interaction, and cougar conflict management within the wildland–urban landscape of the northern Front Range in Colorado, USA. Resource selection of cougars within this landscape was typical of cougars in more remote settings but cougar interactions with humans tended to occur in locations cougars typically selected against, especially those in proximity to human structures. Within higher housing density areas, 83% of cougar use occurred at night, suggesting cougars generally avoided human activity by partitioning time. Only 24% of monitored cougars were reported for some type of conflict behavior but 39% of cougars sampled during feeding site investigations of GPS collar data were found to consume domestic prey items. Aversive conditioning was difficult to implement and generally ineffective for altering cougar behaviors but was thought to potentially have long‐term benefits of reinforcing fear of humans in cougars within human‐dominated areas experiencing little cougar hunting pressure. Cougars are able to exploit wildland–urban landscapes effectively, and conflict is relatively uncommon compared with the proportion of cougar use. Individual characteristics and behaviors of cougars within these areas are highly varied; therefore, conflict management is unique to each situation and should target individual behaviors. The ability of individual cougars to learn to exploit these environments with minimal human–cougar interactions suggests that maintaining older age structures, especially females, and providing a matrix of habitats, including large connected open‐space areas, would be beneficial to cougars and effectively reduce the potential for conflict.

随着全球人口持续扩张，理解并管理荒野-城市界面（wildland–urban interface）内的野生动物种群已成为日益普遍的需求。对于大型食肉动物而言，这一需求尤为突出——这类物种往往难以获得公众包容，且可能对人类安全构成威胁。

遗憾的是，荒野-城市界面内的野生动物相关信息仍较为匮乏，且荒野生态系统中的研究结论往往难以直接推广至人类主导的生态系统。在北美西部区域，美洲狮（Puma concolor）会频繁利用荒野-城市栖息地，而人类在此类区域开展居住与休闲活动的频率正不断提升。

2007年至2015年间，我们针对美国科罗拉多州北部前陆地区的荒野-城市景观，开展了美洲狮资源选择、人狮互动以及美洲狮冲突管理的相关研究。该区域内美洲狮的资源选择模式与更偏远生境中的美洲狮并无显著差异，但美洲狮与人类的互动多发生在其通常回避的区域，尤其是紧邻人类建筑的地带。

在住房密度较高的区域，83%的美洲狮活动发生在夜间，这表明美洲狮多通过时间分化来规避人类活动。仅有24%的被监测美洲狮出现过各类冲突行为，但通过GPS项圈（GPS collar）数据对取食位点进行调查后发现，39%的采样美洲狮会捕食家养猎物。

厌恶性条件作用（aversive conditioning）的实施难度较大，且通常难以有效改变美洲狮的行为，但该手段被认为或可带来长期益处：在人类主导且美洲狮狩猎压力较小的区域，强化美洲狮对人类的畏惧心理。

美洲狮能够高效利用荒野-城市景观，相较于其在此类区域的活动占比，冲突事件的发生频率相对较低。该区域内美洲狮的个体特征与行为模式存在显著差异，因此冲突管理需针对具体场景制定方案，并以个体行为为靶向。

部分美洲狮能够学会在极少发生人狮互动的情况下利用此类环境，这提示我们，维持美洲狮的老龄种群结构（尤其是雌性个体），并保留包含大型连通开放空间在内的栖息地矩阵，将对美洲狮种群有益，同时可有效降低冲突发生的潜在可能。