Three cougar biology and verification programs are being offered this spring by Dr. Jim Halfpenny.

Feb 11 - 12, 2012 -- Ndakinna Education Center, Greenfield, NY

Register at www.ndkinna.org

Mar 1 -2, 2012 -- Yellowstone Association and A Naturalist's World, Yellowstone National Park and Gardiner, MT

Register at www.yellowstoneassociation.org/institute/fieldSeminars/courseCalendar.aspx

Mar 24 - 25, 2012 -- University of Missouri, St. Louis

Register at http://umslce.org/index.php/catalog/Personal-Enrichment/Cougar-Ecology%2C-Behavior-%26-Verification-Workshop/details or contact Dr. Halfpenny at his e-mail below. A flyer on this event is available here.

Some details about these programs follow:

COUGARS: ECOLOGY & VERIFICATION

Cougar, Mountain Lion, Puma, Painter, Panther, Catamount - all the same!

Secret, elusive, cougars are the creatures of myths and rumors. Capable of killing people, cougars stir our imagination, curiosity, and fear. Improve your knowledge about cougars, their presence, dangers, and management. Dr. Jim Halfpenny will also cover cougar ecology and how cougars interact at the human interface.

Additional topics include population biology, behavior, pet trade, locating tracks and signs, determining age and sex, verifying presence, collecting quality evidence, and other tracking subjects.

The workshop will provide the knowledge and skills needed to accurately identify and document signs of cougars, dogs, lynx, wolves, and other rare carnivores.

New York and Missouri programs are not field programs but include sandbox tracking and participants making plaster casts of rare mammal tracks. The Yellowstone program has a field session.

For additional information contact Dr. Halfpenny at

trackdoctor@tracknature.com.

Thank you for your help in sharing knowledge about the cougar.