How many wolves would it take to kill a large male mountain lion? Assuming that they are on level ground with no place for the lion to escape to. I think 1 on 1 a lion would waste a wolf, but what do I know? Im guessing it would prolly take 3 wolves to have a chance against a big cat, what do you think?

If it could catch one, I think a single wolf could easily take a lion. He would have quite a few battle scars to show for it, but lions are wimps.

I would agree with you.

But I don't think they would try it in the first place unless there were at least five wolves.

But that just me.

I vote for the Lion in a one on one battle...

He has 21 weapons, the Wolf has one...

I think for the most part both know it's not
worth it.But if it did happen I think at
least 2 wolves as they like to worry down
the victim,and ham string or open the flank.
2 (or +) x 1 I'd bet wolf
1x1 I'd bet lion

This is about as unlikely a scenario in wilderness conditions as Klinton teling the truth. I base this on many years of actual living in the most remote parts of B.C., Alberta and the NWT, alone for monthhs on end.

The conflict between apex predators exists between Bears and Wolves, not between Cougars and Wolves which occupy different ecological niches. Predators do not seek out conflict without a survival motive, it would be counter-productive to their ontogenical and phylogenical survival.

Actually, Cougars and Wolves would very seldom encounter each other in genuine wilderness conditions and would avoid such an encounter whenever possible. Bears, however, will confront Wolves and Wolves will harrass, attack and even kill and eat Bears, including Grizzlies. A high population of Grizzlies, though, will run the Wolves out of the country, as is the case in much of north-eastern B.C. today, two decades after the "Wolf Wars" of the early '80s.

kutenay,

I know a couple cat hunters that would dispute the claim that there are no conflicts between mt lions and wolves.

They've seen track evidence to the contrary and have a observed a much different reaction of lions to dogs in areas where there are wolves.

I don't know that it ever gets farther than the cat escaping up a tree, though.

I also have friends that witnessed three wolves killing a g-bear before. They are undoubtedly at odds with each other as a species.

I took part (in a minor way) in the "Wolf Wars" when I was growing up in Chetwynd in the '80s. Man there were a lot of wolves up here back then!!

Cheers,
Canuck

I did not say that there are "no" conflicts between Cougars and Wolves, simply that this is very unusual and is not, generally speaking, a result of competition for food, althhough it certainly can happen.

The issue is that a Cougar will do it's damnest to avoid ANY contact/conflict with other apex predators while Wolves will and do actively seek out Bears. There are few inter-specific conflicts that I can think of between apex predators that are not based upon access to and retention of food; in most areas that I have seen both Cougars and Wolves, they usually tend to target different prey species, although there can be considerable over-lap and even duplication.

My feeling is that the reaction of contemporary Cougars to Wolves is as much a "learned" behavioural adaptation to ALL dogs, or even more so, than it is based on competition for food sources. I also think, that Cougars exhibit confrontation-avoidance behaviour rather than confrontation-conflict behaviour with respect to Wolves, etc. But, I could be wrong, my elderly mind is not too bright.

I've never seen a cougar in the wild.I have seen a single male wolf scare off a large black bear who was trying to get to the packs kill.Wolves that are not afraid to take on a bear will not be concerned about take on a lion.

Cougars do prey on domestic dogs. Why would one assume they would not also prey upon a wolf. If they could ever find a small one alone.

Here was an article in Wyoming.

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- Researchers are trying to gauge how the reintroduction of wolves to northwestern Wyoming and central Idaho has affected mountain lions.

The issue came up during scientific presentations at the seventh Mountain Lion Workshop, which drew cougar researchers from as far away as British Columbia, Florida and Mexico.

Multiple studies have been launched to see how mountain lions are responding to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 and 1996.


Some researchers have documented wolves usurping lion kills and, in some cases, killing cougars and their kittens. Researchers in Idaho cited competition with wolves as contributing to a drop in the mountain lion population.

Howard Quigley, a senior scientist with Beringia South, a science and education organization based in Kelly, said reintroducing wolves has meant a radical change for lions.

"Cougars have been without wolves in this valley for decades," he said.

Many researchers believe that lions changed their behavior in the absence of wolves and must now readjust. In Yellowstone, cougar researcher Toni Ruth has been seeing more wolf tracks in core cougar habitat.

But she said it is too soon to say whether wolves are affecting the distribution and density of lion populations.

Ruth, a scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, has documented some dramatic encounters between wolves and lions in northern Yellowstone. In the winter of 1999, she said, wolves killed four kittens that were following their mother through deep snow.

The kittens were vulnerable prey. Four is a large litter, and the kittens were all underweight. Moreover, it was difficult to try to flee through the snow, she said.

Last month, a wolf pack killed an adult female lion, orphaning her two kittens, which starved three weeks later, she said.

Ruth is investigating whether lions will have to expend more energy killing prey as wolves usurp lion kills.

The data so far suggest that lions kill prey slightly more often than wolves. More research is needed to determine whether lion kill rates are increasing compared to before wolves reintroduction.

Despite a rapidly increasing wolf population, researchers have yet to demonstrate a statistically significant increase in lion-wolf encounters.

"What we might see, but we haven't seen yet, is an increase in encounter rate," she said. "Cougars are pretty good at trying to avoid those kinds of interactions."

Ruth has documented cougars moving to rocky cliff outcrops when wolves are in the area. In addition, cougars have tended to bed down close to kills and be vigilant in keeping scavengers away.

A hard winter could lead to more wolf-lion encounters.

Researchers reported that wolves and lions favor the same prey, primarily elk and deer, but researchers like Ruth are investigating whether lions will shift to other prey such as bighorn sheep and antelope if they have to compete with wolves.

University of Idaho researchers James and Holly Akenson have been studying cougars in Idaho's Big Creek drainage. Wolves showed up in the drainage in 1998.

In 2000, a wildfire swept through the study area, scorching most of an elk winter range. As a result, wolves left the study area and followed elk to another winter range.

But lions remained in the burned area and exploited other prey such as starving ungulates. They killed three moose that were in poor condition, Holly Akenson said.

Even so, the researchers documented a sharp decline in the lion population, from 10 adults at the beginning

That information tends to confirm my opinion developed by watching animals while working in the bush. There is the obvious and usual temporary conflicts between species due to an introduction of an extirpated or exotic species into a given habitat; but, this tends to even out over time as both species adapt to the new species mix in the area in question.

While one cannot really deduce any longterm patterns from the material gathered in such a short time period, I note that Cougars were already beginning to develope avoidance behaviours relative to Wolves. Of course, Wolves, as an opportunistic non-specialized predator will kill and eat Cougars, especially debilitated individuals, BUT, the two animals will soon tend to target different major prey species and thus the incidence of conflict will markedly decline.

Where you have primarily Mule Deer, Bighorns and Whitetails, you will have Cougars, a solitary hunter that can find it difficult to subdue a Bull Moose or Elk. Where you have primarily Elk, Moose, Goat, Caribou and Stone's/Dall's Sheep, you will have more Wolves whci hunt largely in groups and can subdue the larger animals more readily. Conflicts will happen, but, not too frequently as Cougars are the single most difficult to see animal in the B.C. bush, except the Sasquatch.......they are wary, secretive and avoid other predators when they can.