There was a time when robust mountain lion numbers roamed the remote 12,000-square mile Vancouver Island in western Canada. However, the population declined as wolves moved into the area.
“We have nowhere near as good of data on cougars here, as compared to somewhere like Yellowstone, but I think it is fair to say that as wolves recovered on Vancouver Island there was some competition with cougars,” Garth Mowat, provincial large carnivore specialist, told the Alberni Valley News. “The trend in cougar numbers is down to something like a third of what it was before. My guess is that it’s a competitive effect with wolves.”
Research released earlier in 2021 showed similar population trends in Wyoming.
(Photo source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)