Teton Cougar Project

The Teton Cougar Project was initiated in 2000 by Howard Quigley under the banner of the Hornocker Wildlife Institute/WCS. In 2003, Teton Cougar Project oversight was transferred to Craighead Beringia South, under the direction of Howard and his co-principal investigator for the project, Derek Craighead. They quickly recognized this project was the missing piece in the development of their goal of combining databases on the four largest carnivores in the contiguous United States - wolves, cougars, grizzly bears, and black bears. With their mutual track records as leaders, wildlife professionals, and advocates of higher education, Howard and Derek are now driving this project to be the foundation for their landscape conservation approach, based on carnivore ecology. The Teton Cougar Project, now in its ninth year, continues to develop its capabilities and potentials, starting first and foremost with intensive fieldwork tracking and monitoring study animal movements, habitat use, prey use, and demographics in the Jackson Hole area.

Objectives

The Teton Cougar Project will continue to meet the following objectives:

1. To develop greater understanding of cougar populations dynamics;
2. To characterize cougar predation ecology;
3. To examine and initiate methods for documenting cougar interactions with other carnivores; and
4. To coalesce all of this in a comprehensive, long-term management and conservation package for managers, policy makers, and stakeholders in the area.

Personnel

The Teton Cougar Project director is Howard Quigley, Ph.D., who is assisted by co-principal investigator, Derek Craighead, President of Craighead Beringia South. Project biologists Pete Alexander,  Jesse Newby and Boone Smith conduct a variety of Teton Cougar Project operations.

Cooperators

The Teton Cougar Project works closely and in accordance with a variety of cooperators, collaborators, and permitting agencies and organizations, including Panthera Foundation, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the National Elk Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wolf Recovery Program for Wyoming, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Utah State University, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Funding

The Teton Cougar Project is funded in part by grants and donations from organizations and individuals interested in the proper management, conservation, and stewardship of our natural resources, including wildlife. All donations are tax-deductible and Craighead Beringia South is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.