Puma concolor GPS Telemetry and Path Identification Index (2003-2013), Southwest Region, USA

Capture, GPS-collar tagging, and release of cougars was conducted in northern Arizona and southern Utah and Nevada, USA, from 2003 to 2013 by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service (Northern Arizona University IACUC Protocol # 02-082-R4), resulting in GPS-tracking and monitoring of study animal activities. This data set includes six individuals that met three criteria: 1) few missing data (greater than or equal to 85% fix success rate), 2) long periods of continuous monitoring, with a minimum of 1000 observations, and 3) established home range with no evidence of dispersal. It includes four females (C04, AS02, P26, and C07) and two males (Z04 and AS07), ranging in age from 1.5 - 4 years in age. Two females (C04 and AS02) denned during observation, and P26 was known from field observation to be accompanied by two sub-adult offspring. Cougars were fitted with Telonics (Mesa, AZ, USA) GEN3 or GEN4 GPS collars with the ARGOS satellite feature programmed to deliver GPS locations daily. Collars were programmed to acquire six locations a day, every four hours, resulting in two nocturnal locations at 9:00 pm and 1:00 am: two roughly crepuscular locations at 5:00 am and 5:00 pm and two diurnal locations at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm local time (Mountain Standard Time). The GPS fix-acquisition window was set to 3 minutes, allowing a battery life of approximately 12-14 months, after which we programmed automatic releases to drop collars. We recovered the collars for the six study animals and downloaded GPS data directly, replacing the ARGOS transmitted data. Collars did not include activity sensors. Field investigations of GPS locations were conducted to document cougar prey items and activities.