Predators of Cattle in North America
摘要
North America, similar to South America, has no indigenous domestic cattle, with domestic breeds based on taurine, indicine, and mixed breeds, and introduced water buffalo. The chapter examines the relationship between domestic cattle and large carnivores in North America (including Mexico and Central America). In North America, wolves and brown bears may kill domestic cattle, but unlike in Europe there are more large carnivore species. Cougars and a second bear species, the American black bear also kill cattle, as can the jaguar, which occurs only in the extreme south of the North American continent. Similar to Europe, extreme human-carnivore conflicts may emerge, due to the comparative success of well-supported large carnivore conservation, which may conflict with expanding cattle numbers and ranges. Effective management methods exist; hence, the monitoring of cattle-carnivore relations is well documented as in Europe, and with more financial support and in more detail than in the Asian, South American, and African continents. The current evidence suggests that the main cattle predator is the gray wolf, followed by cougars and brown bears. This predation is variably balanced with predator protection, including reintroductions, expanded protected areas, and legal conflicts between the stakeholders of the cattle industry and conservation policy and management. Geomatics-based methods are also used for supportive analyses, generally at a more advanced level than in other continents, and may provide a role model for such methods in other continents. This integrated, interdisciplinary assessment contributes to knowledge of cattle management and ecology, and conservation management and policy in North America, and may provide a background for such studies in other less advanced continents.