The Puma Guy, Chris Wilmers, on the Science of Coexisting with Local Mountain Lions

Mountain lions are slipping through our neighborhoods under the cover of darkness, radically altering their behavior just to avoid us. In this episode, Chris Wilmers, UC Santa Cruz professor of wildlife ecology, pulls back the curtain on the cryptic world of our region's apex predators. From a toothless "old man" puma targeting local livestock to the hidden ways backyard rat poison disrupts local food webs, Wilmers breaks down the true cost of human coexistence. As concrete barriers slice ancient habitats into fragments, local conservationists are fighting back with innovative wildlife crossings. Can these modern solutions truly mend a fractured landscape, or will a dominant male's desperate attempt to cross Highway 17 end in disaster?Santa Cruz Puma Project👉 https://www.santacruzpumas.org/ 01:04 - Meet Chris Wilmers: The Puma Guy03:07 - Impact of Wolves on Scavengers04:07 - Studying Mountain Lions in Human Landscapes07:11 - Nocturnal Habits and Human Avoidance10:10 - How Mountain Lions Choose Their Homes13:19 - Scavenging and Hunting Near Humans20:28 - Habitat Fragmentation and Its Effects36:58 - Mountain Lions During the Pandemic