How can we save pumas

Dubbed P, that young male is now stuck living under the Hollywood sign in Griffith Park, an oasis of acres of chaparral habitat in the middle of the city.

Isolation means increased competition for territory and partners. It also means rampant inbreeding and, ultimately, extinction. This subpopulation has among the lowest genetic diversity of any felid in the western US. With southern Californians frequently building homes in canyons abutting puma habitat, interspecies conflict has led to lions hiding in crawl spaces under homes, and sightings on trails.

Last November, tensions flared after livestock were killed in rural Malibu, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County. Even a relatively shallow incline of 6. The researchers also found that pumas traversed hillsides to decrease the angle that they climb and travelled much more slowly when climbing, thus conserving their energy.

The animals spent much of their time resting 60 per cent and less than 10 per cent of the day travelling, further conserving their energy. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. Pumas were eliminated from the entire eastern half of North America, except for a tiny population in Florida, within years of European colonization.

Today, the remnant population in Florida is endangered but recovering. Pumas are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation due to human development of land. Supple, Ashley Byrne, James A. Johnson, Heather J. Milne, Stephen J. Onorato, Seth P. Riley, Jeff A. Sikich, Daniel R. Wayne, Eduardo Eizirik, Russell B. Corbett-Detig, Richard E. Green, Christopher C. Wilmers, Beth Shapiro. Puma genomes from North and South America provide insights into the genomic consequences of inbreeding.

Nature Communications , ; 10 1 DOI: ScienceDaily, 18 October Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Whole genome sequencing could help save pumas from inbreeding. Retrieved November 12, from www.

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