Sep 26, 2017
Marcia and Grey speak with Chris Wilmers about his love for the large predators such as pumas, lions and wolves. We discuss his current projects with SC Puma Project and how people can get involved.
Chris Wilmers is a professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz and lead investigator for the Santa Cruz Puma Project. The Puma Project is a research effort to better understand the impacts of human development on the behavior, physiology, ecology, conservation and management of pumas (aka mountain lions).
Dr. Wilmers' lab group at UCSC is generally focused on understanding how global change influences animal behavior, population dynamics and community organization. They emphasize combining quantitative field techniques to better understand the ecology of the wildlife so as to better inform their management and conservation. In addition to the Santa Cruz Puma Project, the Wilmers lab group is involved in research, management and conservation efforts of large predators and/or their prey in Northern California, Yellowstone, Kenya and South Africa.
Resource Links:
Lab Web Page: http://wildlife.ucsc.edu
Puma Project: http://santacruzpumas.org
African Lion Project: http://africanlions.org