Residential development reduces black bear (Ursus americanus) opportunity to scavenge cougar (Puma concolor) killed prey.

ABSTRACT: Large carnivores commonly scavenge on kills made by other species, but if and how this phenomenon is influenced by urbanization remains unclear. To address this knowledge deficit, we investigated whether housing density, along with demographic and environmental covariates, impacted the probability of American black bear (Ursus americanus) occurrence at cougar (Puma concolor) killed prey along the wildland-urban gradient of western Washington, USA. Under the refuge hypothesis, which stipulates that residential development reduces opportunities for black bears to visit cougar prey carcasses by (1) altering cougar kill composition and/or (2) drawing black bears to human subsidies, we expected the probability of bear presence at cougar kills to decline as housing density increased. Alternative

SUBMITTER: Robins CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11836637 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature