Toward Coexistence with Large Predators

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Northeast Wilderness Trust’s (NEWT) conservation work is guided by a trio of principles: cores, corridors, and carnivores. These, referred to as the “3Cs,” inform NEWT’s decision-making when prioritizing potential land projects in pursuit of an ecologically connected and vibrant Northeast.

The third of these principles, carnivores, refers to the presence on wildlands of large predator species. These species exert downward pressure on the web of life that makes up ecosystems, helping to keep them balanced. But human domination of the landscape, as well as outright extermination campaigns of these species in some instances, has led to the decimation of these vital ecosystem engineers and their disappearance from wide swathes of their original ranges, with far-ranging consequences for ecological health and resilience.

In the Northeast, the two primary predator species now mostly absent from the landscape are wolves and mountain lions. The latter of these was the focus of NEWT’s recent Speaker Series webinar, “The Role of Large Carnivores in Rewilding Ecosystems.” Dr. Mark Elbroch of Panthera, the global wildcat conservation organization, joined NEWT’s Wildlands Ecology Director Shelby Perry for a conversation about mountain lions (or catamounts, or cougars, or pumas, or any of the “more than 250 names documented across the Americas” for this species, according to Elbroch) and the ecosystem role of large predators.

Elbroch, who has studied mountain lions for decades and currently researches their ecology in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, described the lives and interspecies interactions of these large cats. Mountain lions are “highly connected to other species,” making them critical for “biodiversity, ecosystem health, and resilience,” said Elbroch. They are also constant learners, curious but cautious, family-centric, and communal.

Elbroch also described a critical dimension of mountain lions’ ecology and behavior, one that bears both on why the species has been extirpated from so many areas and on the prospects for its reintroduction to those areas in the future. Elbroch noted that his and others’ research shows that mountain lions hunt livestock “opportunistically.” Rather than seeking out goats, chickens, or other domesticated prey animals, mountain lions predate these animals “while searching for the ones they’re really looking for,” which tend to be the most common hoofed animal in their home range. Elbroch offered an example of this: “If a mountain lion is moving through deer habitat, and they suddenly come out of the woods to a clear-cut area with a house and goats in the backyard, that might create the opportunity for them to hunt livestock.”

This creates the potential for conflict with humans. But Elbroch also underscored that it is an issue with a relatively simple solution. “We can encourage coexistence with this species by protecting the animals around us.”

Fostering that coexistence is critical, as it remains one of the principal impediments to the reestablishment of mountain lions east of the Mississippi River. Elbroch and his colleagues have shown via their studies that natural recolonization of the eastern United States by this species is possible, but on a painfully long timeline: “We predicted that mountain lions are unlikely to reach even the western edge of the Great Lakes by 2100.” That leaves human-led reintroduction as the only means by which mountain lions will return to their home range in the eastern United States in the foreseeable future. Elbroch pointed to the United States’ long history of successful species reintroductions as evidence of this strategy’s effectiveness. He also explained that reintroduction in the eastern United States is not an issue of ecology (in fact, more high-quality mountain-lion habitat exists in the east than in the American west), but rather one of human will.

Elbroch noted that his own home life shows that coexistence is possible. He lives in rural western Washington, smack dab in mountain-lion country. “We can peacefully coexist with them with some common-sense changes in the way we live,” namely keeping livestock and pets in proper enclosures outdoors, he said. “They can be invisible around and amongst us.”

Creating an environment of coexistence will require that we as a society rethink deeply ingrained narratives, and live with recognition that we share our landscapes with nonhuman inhabitants who have the same right to them that we do. “Right now, the narrative around large carnivores is that they are competition; that they are dangerous; and that we need to control their numbers because that increases human safety and everything valuable to us,” Elbroch said. “That narrative is what’s driving the tension around coexistence.”

He pointed to examples from other countries of people living more peaceably with mountain lions and other large carnivores. He specifically mentioned puma tourism in Chile, describing walking in the field all day with these large cats ambling alongside him and his guides. “It was mind-blowing. They are choosing a more peaceful coexistence because they want to share their landscapes.”

Ultimately, Elbroch has hope. “Coexistence is possible if we don’t persecute them, chase them, or believe that it’s important to instill fear in them. Because that’s our narrative. And we can change that.”

Northeast Wilderness Trust’s 2025 Speaker Series continues on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. ET with “Rewilding Across Continents.” The webinar will feature Kathleen Fitzgerald and Sebastián Di Martino, veteran conservationists with decades of combined experience rewilding landscapes and ecosystems across North America, South America, and Africa. Fitzgerald and Di Martino will give presentations on their work, followed by a discussion comparing key insights and reasons for hope. Sign up here.

Photography by Susan Morse and Panthera.