Cougar - Photo: Joe Pontecorvo
“Counting Cougars Creatively”
Presented by Mark Elbroch, Executive Director of Panthera
Rainshadow Hall at the Dungeness River Nature Center
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:00pm
FREE!
Cougars, also called mountain lions, panthers and pumas, are elusive animals. They’re really difficult to count, and yet such information is critical to address their conservation management and ongoing debates about the costs and benefits of living alongside them.
Cougar by Joe Pontecorvo
Join Dr. Mark Elbroch as he describes his own work experimenting with new methods for counting cats, including locally with the Olympic Cougar Project, a large-scale, collaborative project co-led with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. From the open landscapes of Patagonia to dense Pacific Northwest forests, we need information about these cryptic animals, and to base our beliefs and decisions solidly on objective facts. Join us for a visual presentation on beautiful animals, stunning landscapes, scientific innovation, and the ongoing challenges of counting cougars.
Mark Elbroch
Mark Elbroch is a father, writer, mountain biologist and Director of Panthera's Puma (Cougar) Program, for which he designs and implements cougar conservation research in North and South America. Mark has contributed to mountain lion research in Idaho, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. His work with mountain lions has been covered by National Geographic, the BBC, National Public Radio, The New York Times, Scientific American, and The Washington Post, among others. Mark is twice a National Geographic Explorer, a 2011 Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation Fellow (for environmental leadership), and the 2017 recipient of the Craighead Conservation Award for "creating positive and lasting conservation outcomes." Mark has also authored/coauthored 10 books on natural history including two award-winning books on wildlife tracking and the Peterson Reference Guide to the Behavior of North American Mammals. His most recent book is The Cougar Conundrum: Sharing the World with a Successful Predator, published by Island Press. More about Mark can be found at https://markelbroch.com/.