By
The Associated Press
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A report from the National Wildlife Federation concludes that the mountain lion has lost half its habitat across the West, especially along the western edges of Colorado's larger cities such as Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs.
The study by the Washington, D.C., group said development either has pushed the mountain lion out, causing it to die off due to lack of range, or has forced the cat to hang around and feed off smaller animals like raccoons and skunks.
The state Wildlife Department in Colorado Springs averages nearly two calls per week regarding cases in which the lions have either been sighted or their tracks detected, according to Mike Seraphin, a department spokesman. Many of the calls are not confirmed.
Cases of conflict between people and lions are rare, but as recently as 1998 a lion attacked a hiker in Roxborough State Park. The year before, a lion killed a 12-year-old boy in Rocky Mountain National Park.
And with their habitat shrinking, more encounters can be expected, according to the federation study. It concluded that while the overall population of lions may be shrinking, there's a good chance residents who live in newly built-up areas will eventually cross a mountain lion's path.
The loss of habitat serves as "the single greatest threat to the survival of the mountain lion, not to mention many of the North America's cats," said Elizabeth Murdock, one of the co-authors of the study.
