PS 22-42 - Cougar response to recreational activities in a wilderness area on southern Vancouver Island

Abstract: Establishing protected areas is one of the main methods for biodiversity conservation, but such spaces are often established with a dual mandate to provide recreational activities in addition to supporting conservation. Recreational activities have been shown to induce fear responses in carnivores — displacing them spatially and temporally — which can have cascading effects on the wider ecological community. As outdoor recreation increases in popularity and accessibility, assessing the responses of carnivores is important for supporting effective conservation management. This research aims to quantify the spatial and temporal responses of cougars (Puma concolor) to recreational activities in the Sooke Hills Wilderness Area Regional Park and Greater Victoria Water Supply Area on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Spatial responses were analyzed by modeling camera trap data using generalized linear mixed models, while temporal responses were investigated using activity pattern analysis, where cougar daily activity patterns in the wilderness area and water supply area were compared. Results reveal an absence of spatial avoidance by cougars, as recreational activities did not have a significant effect on cougar weekly site use at the scale of weekly presence. Activity pattern analysis demonstrated an increase in daytime cougar activity in the GVWPA compared to the SHWA, with higher levels of activity at dawn and dusk in the SHWA. Overall, these results indicate that cougars may be using temporal avoidance in response to recreational activity, and that the relative intensity of individual site use may be impacted by other habitat and disturbance variables or human disturbance at a different scale than that investigated. Insights on how cougars are responding to recreation activities can help inform management policies and ensure that recreational activities are remaining compatible with conservation efforts.