Using DNA to evaluate field identification of cougar sex by agency staff and hunters using trained dogs

Cougar (Puma concolor) hunting has been classified typically as either selective-hunting with the aid of dogs or nonselective-hunting without dogs; this is based on the assumption that hunters using dogs to tree cougars can better identify sex of cougars prior to harvest. Subsequent to hunt activity, 94% of all wildlife agencies that allow cougar hunting have mandatory inspections where sex is identified and recorded by agency staff. To test the ability of hunters and agency staff in Washington, USA, to correctly identify sex of cougars in the field, laboratory analysis of DNA from tissue samples collected by experienced hound handlers using biopsy darts and collected during staff inspection of mortalities, respectively, was compared with visual identification and used to determine error rates. The sex assigned by dog hunters in the field matched sex from DNA analysis 70% of the time (n=159); correct identification varied between 57% and 88%/year. The sex identified by agency staff during inspection of mortalities matched DNA analysis 87% of the time (n=1,329); correct identification varied between 71% and 90%/year. Because sex misclassification has the potential to alter intended harvest as well as assessing success of management prescriptions, agencies may want to initiate education programs internally and outside their agency. The majority of states and provinces already have mandatory inspections; therefore, agencies would benefit from initiating DNA collection during mandatory inspections to identify error rates of sex identification by staff within their jurisdiction. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.