Figure 7. Movement behavior of sub-adult cougars during dispersal.

Movement model results indicated cougars used face-paced movements at night and had shortened daytime movements when traversing open habitats. Illustrations A and B exemplify these model results and highlight the micro-scale cover, sometimes associated with human infrastructure, that cougars presumably sought for daytime resting locations. In both examples, cougars used directional face-paced movements at night to traverse large expanses of agricultural development. Cougar M3 (A) took cover at rural residences (located ∼75 km from the Cypress Hills) during the day. Cougar M7 (B) recorded daytime fixes at an abandoned-car yard (located ∼250 km from the Cypress Hills); fixes scheduled for 0600 h, 0900 h, 1500 h and 1800 h were unsuccessful presumably because the cougar was sheltered under a vehicle.