Secret Life of Mountain Lions


1. The video "Secret Lives of Mountain Lions" gave some insight into the social nature of mountain lions. It once previously thought that these mountain cats are solitary creatures, but recent footage that tracked the lives of a small family proved otherwise. What was shown is actually a more affectionate and caring lifestyle than anyone had previously thought. This relationship is important because it is possibly one of the reasons the species has avoided extinction. As it is, less than 1 in 5 kittens survive long enough to reproduce and it seems one for the crucial pieces of survival is the care the mother takes with her offspring. The video also shows random acts of kindness such as sharing food with a male (the father) and the mother adopting an orphan kitten.

2. I did learn something new from this video. I learned that mountain lions share the position at the top of the food chain with things like wolves and humans and the mountain lion babies are vulnerable to predators when they are small and defenseless.

3. Before seeing the video "Secret Lives of Mountain Lions" (https://vimeo.com/157288534) I did not know very much about their habits. I was not aware of their vulnerabilities in harsh environments, possibly because Sonoma County has sure mild climate. I was shocked to learn that very few babies live to reproduce. This makes me curious about the impact humans have on the cougar population and I wonder if the high death rate is related to poaching and hunting. How have they not gone extinct if the number of surviving offspring is less than the two reproducing parents?  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where Does Your Compost Go?

                                                  Where Does Your Composting Go? This was a great little film about where our local compost goes once we put it in our green bins on the street for pick up. In this video compost is described as a process of breaking down our "green waste", which includes things like food scraps, leaves, coffee grinds, and Christmas trees. Compost is the end result of this process. The process is a six step process starting from the point it leaves your house. Once the collection trucks pick them up from your street the trucks 1) bring your compost to a transfer center. 2) There the trucks dump their contents into larger transfer trucks that deliver the contents to Redwood Landfill. The trucks dump their loads on a concrete pad. 3) The compost and all the vital water that comes out of the trucks get put through a grinder where it is ground into smaller pieces. 4). These pieces are put into piles, called Covered Aerated Static Piles, or compost
Read more

Ready for Wildfire

1. Getting ready for wildfire is an unfortunate reality for people who live in and around forests, but very necessary in case of emergency. There are three steps you can take to prepare for a wildfire. The first is to remove dead and dying trees to about 100 feet from a home or building. Dead pine trees and pine needles act as fuel for fires so it's best to remove it before it is too late. The second step is to pay attention to local and state media like the news, twitter, radio, etc, and be aware of any current wildfire threats that could affect your area. The third step is to be prepared to evacuate, especially during the summer months when the chance of wildfire is at its height. Fires can spread quickly so being ready to leave your home may be a life or death situation. 2. Bark beetles are a common insect that have inhabited forest habitats for many thousands of years. Their populations are kept in check by weather, but over the last few years their population has exploded an
Read more

Life Cycle of the Salmon

The life cycle of the salmon as explained in the video is an incredible journey that begins in freshwater streams. Female salmon prepare nests, called redds, by cleaning and shaping gravel into shallow indentations. They deposits thousands of eggs in their nests and their mate follows closely behind and fertilizes the eggs. The fresh, cool water helps bring fresh oxygen to the eggs and eventually a fry is born from the egg. They are born with the yolk still attached, which they need for nourishment. At this point they live in the shallow "backwater and stream waters". As they grow to be an inch long they are called fingerlings. Once they are large enough they leave the shallows and move into the deep channels where they use large rocks and wood for safety and shade. Smolting is the next stage as the baby salmon are big enough to travel in schools and they head down river for the migration out to sea. Their bodies start undergoing physiological changes as their environment tra
Read more