True Wild

06/04/2024

Repost from

Five mountain lions that were being tracked by the Audubon Canyon Ranch Living with Lions Project have died in recent months, sparking an investigation by state experts and striking a blow to the local research program.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its partners say the cats, which died between mid-February and late April, succumbed to bacterial bronchopneumonia after a period of weight loss and declining health.

The fatalities raise questions about whether other mountain lions in the region that are not monitored by the project may be sick or dying undetected.

Story by Mary Callahan / Photo by by Quinton Martins; courtesy Living with Lions

04/08/2024

It is not easy to wax lyrical about project happenings when the wind has been sucked out of your sails. We have had 3 collared mountain lions die in the past month - P46, then P45 and lastly P11. A significant setback and emotional rollercoaster. All 3 female cats have passed away with cause of death unknown. All bodies have been sent to CDFW () or UC Davis () for necropsies to determine cause of death.

P46 (~10 years old) was collared on Sonoma Mountain in December 2023. On February 29, we received a collar mortality signal and went to investigate. Quinton found her body lying in the shade of a tree down in a drainage. There appeared no signs of injury.

P45 was collared in October 2023. She was only about 2 years old and blind in her right eye. On March 21st, Quinton received a mortality signal from her collar. He found her under a tree having died a short while before. Again, he could detect no signs of physical injury.

P11 - On Sunday the 24th, Quinton got a mortality signal from her collar in Annadel State Park (). He immediately reached out to Park staff and is incredibly grateful for their response to this situation. He was able to isolate the location of the collar signal and found P11 lying dead in the bush. No visible signs of injury - again!

A common thing for all the mortalities was that the lions had not made significant kills for some time before they died, suggesting they may have been unwell for several weeks. We do not yet have the necropsy results for any of the recent deaths. Health issues like Avian Flu or Pneumonia spring to mind. Avian flu was recorded in 6 California mountain lions in 2023. We will have to wait for the results.

Without these mountain lions being collared we would not be aware of these lion mortalities. It is incredibly demoralizing to see these cats dying. Also to invest so much into trying to study them and having them die so soon. However, we may hopefully be able to use this information in a meaningful way to ensure the conservation of other lions to come.

Photos: P11 carried by Quinton and Park staff, P46 in her final resting place, P45 found hours after death.

04/03/2024

We had an interesting time at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue () giving our Human-Wildlife Interactions workshop. We had 7 children and their parents join us to learn how to live with livestock and predators. Workshops like these can help people to learn about how to coexist with predators, protecting both their livestock and wildlife.

Liz pointing out a hole dug under this chicken run. This is a typical chicken run for protecting chicks, but it lacks the necessary protection from digging animals, such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes. In this case, a good solution would be to lay and secure chicken wire on the ground around the run.

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03/27/2024

A quick reminder to sign up to this great workshop! Register by tomorrow for $5!
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Inviting all youth aged 9-18 years who raise farm animals to join this workshop at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue on Inviting all youth aged 9-18 years who raise farm animals to join this workshop at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue on Saturday March 30th!

Learn more about local wildlife, their habits and abilities; learn to identify different species by their signs like tracks and s**t; and figure out ways to keep wildlife safely away from domestic animals, so that we can coexist well together.

Check out the flier for details and link is below. Share to anyone who may be interested!

https://ucanr.edu/hwi

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03/15/2024

Inviting all youth aged 9-18 years who raise farm animals to join this workshop at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue on Saturday March 30th!

Learn more about local wildlife, their habits and abilities; learn to identify different species by their signs like tracks and s**t; and figure out ways to keep wildlife safely away from domestic animals, so that we can coexist well together.

Check out the flier for details and link is below. Share to anyone who may be interested!

https://ucanr.edu/hwi

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02/26/2024

Raising livestock in mountain lion territory can come with risks. Livestock not properly protected will always be at risk of being preyed on by mountain lions. True Wild, partnering with Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue and the Audubon Canyon Ranch Living with Lions Project, offers advice to livestock owners on how to properly protect their animals, limiting conflict with mountain lions.

Recently, an Occidental landowner lost 2 sheep to a mountain lion. She called Quinton and let him know about the situation. Sometimes a case like this can also be an opportunity to capture and collar the lion.

Quinton visited the property and helped the landowner plan to build an enclosure to protect her remaining sheep. As mountain lions hunt predominantly at night, putting livestock in a full enclosure between dusk and dawn significantly reduces the risk from predation.

An adequate puma-proof enclosure includes a secure roof and no gaps for the lion to squeeze through. Mountain lions can jump 15 feet high, making a coral without a roof a trap where the livestock cannot escape being killed.

An important addition to the structure includes attaching non-see-through screening on the lower part of the fencing. This has been effective on projects in Africa, keeping livestock safe from lions and leopards. Cats are visual hunters that appear uncomfortable jumping into a space they cannot see in. Such a screen prevents the lion putting its paw through the fencing and injuring an animal, and can also serve to keep livestock calmer, preventing injuries if they cannot not see the predator.

Once completed, the landowner sent Quinton photos of the setup. He noticed a space between the wall and the roof where a mountain lion could fit through and advised her to close this gap. This was completed and the pen will now be a safe haven for her remaining sheep to sleep!

It is encouraging to see this landowner taking the necessary steps to protect her animals that rely solely on her to look after them. Way to go!

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01/29/2024

PLAN YOUR SAFARI NOW!
We specialize in creating carefully orchestrated and unique safaris for small groups or individuals wanting an authentic African experience. Proceeds of our safaris contribute to conservation of mountain lions through our work on mountain lions in the North Bay, as well as to community and conservation projects in the respective countries we visit.

DECEMBER 2024
If you want to experience the Green Season in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, have Quinton lead you on an awesome safari during this vibrant time where many of the animals have their babies, the migrant birds have moved back in, the landscape is awash with bright colors and dust washed off after the ending of the harsh dry season. Magnificent skies with voluminous cumulus clouds and glorious sunsets make this a rewarding time of the year to travel.

ZAMBIA 2025
Now is the time to start booking June - September 2025 safaris in Zambia. Zambia provides an incredibly authentic safari experience at reasonable prices. The diversity of activities (game drives, walking safaris, canoeing and boating) and high caliber guiding cement this as a favorite safari destination. The camps are typically very small (6 - 16 guests)! So contact us soon to book that special trip.

Send us a message today to book your spot!

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01/22/2024

Who said the rainy season in Botswana is not good for game-viewing! If you go to the right camps you are likely to be treated to an incredible experience at half the price of traveling in peak season.

In December, Beth Pratt, California Regional Director of National Wildlife Federation and a person instrumental in the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, together with Jeff Sikich the lead field biologist studying mountain lions in the Los Angeles National Park Service area led a tremendous True Wild Safari to Zimbabwe and Botswana!

Quotes by Beth Pratt, Photos by Jeff Sikich and Beth Pratt

“A connection to animals and the wild world is what sustains me, brings me immeasurable peace and joy. To watch these magnificent elephants drink just feet from us today, linked me back to an ancient time. Africa will do that, I have surmised, after just a few days here, as this landscape still reverberates with the wildness that we have lost in so many places in our modern world.

Africa connects you to the wild place in your soul. My love of cheetahs began as a young girl watching Mutual of Omaha’s WildKingdom so it’s been a lifelong dream to see them in the wild. It’s a transformative experience, seeing them stroll across the African savanna, an exquisite line of living poetry in the larger African verse.

Lions, leopards, hippos, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, painted dogs, zebras, African monarchs, impalas, antelopes, too many birds to list, a black mamba, and even a rare serval! We learned so much about big cat biology and connectivity issues here and also shared the story of P22 Mountain Lion of Hollywood and the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.”

This safari had a strong conservation focus and thanks to those participating in this unique experience, True Wild was able to make $8,500 worth of donations to conservation projects in Africa and in support of the mountain lion connectivity work Beth is involved in in Southern California. Participants contributed further to several of these causes.

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12/07/2023

12/04/2023

The timing of our P11 capture was incredibly good!

Quinton was recently able to see from the collar data that P11 was spending time with P13, the established dominant male in the area. Based on the behavior, they would have been mating.

P11 was near Lake Ilsanjo in Trione Annadel State Park at 4am on 23rd November. At exactly the same time P13 was about 3.5 miles away down in the valley having just crossed Bennett Valley Road from the south. Yet, by noon that day they had found each other at the top of the mountain above Ledson Marsh. Incredible!

Given the size of their territories, it is a wonder they manage to find each other during the 7-10 day estrus period. The famous mountain lion scream is the call of a female in estrus trying to let the male, somewhere out there in his 150 square mile territory, know that it’s time to mate. Not surprising they raise their voices!

They hung out together for 48 hours wandering around Annadel. We can now diarize the possibility of P11 denning in 90 - 95 days from this date (20 - 27th February 2024). Fingers crossed!

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Audubon Canyon Ranch

11/17/2023

Quinton retrieved video trail cameras from a fresh deer carcass that P33 and her kittens, now about 4 ½ months old, were feeding on. Watching the videos gave us fascinating insight into their feeding behavior and use of their different teeth when feeding.

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Audubon Canyon Ranch

11/13/2023

Join us at Wine Snob*s Holiday Market, November 25th, 11am-5pm

True Wild will be hosting a booth with beautiful handmade African jewelry, baskets, and trinkets. We have also partnered with SWAROVSKI OPTIK Outdoor, the best optic brand around and will have some binoculars to sell this day!

The jewelry are from Mulberry Mongoose, a program to help remove snare wire traps and turn the wire into gorgeous pieces. Helping to raise thousands of dollars for vital conservation work!

This will be a great opportunity to do some last minute holiday shopping and support a good cause in the process. See you there!

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11/09/2023

One of the great experiences on Safari is to view wildlife at their level. Not all camps have this opportunity but Mashatu’s “hide” is truly special.

Mashatu’s “hide” is a large shipping container dug into the ground, covered by a mound of dirt with windows cut into it just above ground level. We go down a trapdoor into the hide and have a space where we can be comfortably seated at eye level with a waterhole, just a few yards from us. For the whole morning we had the privilege of sitting and watching as wildlife flowed in and out around the waterhole.

There was a constant flutter of birds. Kudu approached, so cautious of possible predators nearby, taking half an hour before daring to drop their heads to drink. Impala took advantage of the presence of their larger cousins and drank next to the kudu. They moved back to the safety of the bush. Stillness. A couple of skittish wildebeests entered the scene and kicked up dust in a sudden skirmish. Then came two bull elephants. How to describe their magnificence, towering high above us, no hesitation from them, confident in their ownership of the water.

The experience of witnessing this wonderful natural spectacle without disturbing any animals in such a quiet space was simply amazing.

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Mashatu Game Reserve

11/02/2023

Introducing P33!

P33 was captured in November 2021 in Taylor Mountain Regional Park and is the daughter of female P12 and part of a litter of 5 cubs that were raised to dispersal age - a record in the mountain lion world!

While handling her under sedation the True Wild team noted that she had sustained a gunshot injury as they found evidence of shotgun pellets embedded in her hind leg. Fortunately she was still dependent on her mom for food and she was able to recover quickly from the injury.

P33 had been trained by her mom to hunt and survive as a mountain lion in the North Bay. She has been very effective at hunting black-tailed deer and ended up establishing her territory on Taylor Mountain within part of her mothers old range, who most likely gave up some of her territory to her daughter.
.. tune into the next post for an exciting announcement!

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Audubon Canyon Ranch

10/27/2023

We’ve had some excitement this last week and wanted to share the story from Liz’s point of view:

“I am excited to share that Quinton had some luck with a bait he’d put out on Monday. A mountain lion came in and started feeding that same night, so on Tuesday he set a trap with the remains of the deer moved inside it. From the photos it looked like a female, and Quinton expected it to be P20, who uses the Annadel area and whom he is keen to re-collar. In these situations we always hope that the mountain lion will come right back to the site after dark to keep feeding next night. However, there was no sign of movement and Quinton finally set things up to monitor through the night.

At about 2:30am the alarm from the camera in the cage went off – she was back and her head was in the cage. But no ‘trap triggered’ alarm… The next scheduled time-lapse photo that came through showed that the trap was still open and she was nowhere in sight. I dozed off, while Quinton kept an eye out for photos. Suddenly at 3am the cage triggered alarm went off. A moment of tension ensued, waiting to see a photo confirming that she was actually inside the cage, then the photo came through and Quinton and team mobilized immediately!

When Quinton had her sedated and was able to look at her close-up, he was astonished and thrilled to find that it was in fact P11! She was first collared in September 2018 at about three years old, and we were able to follow her through her first litter of cubs, one of whom was P20. But we lost track of her when her collar got to the end of its battery life and dropped off before we were able to re-collar her.

Since then (2020) we have not had any confirmation whether she was still alive, though Quinton kept some hope. It is amazing to meet her again and to finally have her re-collared. We are interested to see if she is still using her previous territory (Annadel and Bennett Valley) and in what way she is sharing it with her adult daughter, P20. We are hoping to collar P20 so that we can track them simultaneously and understand how this might be working.”

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Audubon Canyon Ranch

09/20/2023

Come join Quinton Martins Monday 9/25 for a social hour and presentation talking about Living with Lions - Coexistence with an Iconic American Carnivore! Place Matters a hosting Sonoma Science series. "Come socialize at Brooks Note Winery for a flight of thought experiments and reflections on place -- from wine chemistry to climate change; animal husbandry to permaculture."

Buy Tickets here: https://www.placematters-sonoma.com/shop/p/makers-among-us-july-19th-forrest-middleton-garry-brooks-9c6tn-ntk5y-btlb2

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Audubon Canyon Ranch

09/14/2023

South Luangwa National Park in Zambia has incredible wildlife but is surrounded by local rural communities mainly doing subsistence farming. Because of this, conflict with wildlife is unfortunately common. True Wild Partner Liz Martins and her daughter Ayla had the opportunity to visit an education project within the community. They were deeply impressed by the incredible work that Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust (Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust - CWET) is doing with local children and communities to build an ethos of conservation and appreciation for wildlife. Liz and Ayla got a chance to visit the world-class Chipembele Conservation Education Center where Ayla had fun trying out the interactive activities and identifying seeds and s**t!

This is just another great example of a local grassroots project educating others about the importance of coexisting with wildlife. We’re so impressed by their work and look forward to seeing how True Wild can contribute to their efforts.

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09/08/2023

Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime big cat African Safari!

From Beth: I am so thrilled to be co-leading this trip with one of my scientist heroes, Jeff Sikich. It's a journey connecting the conservation of cats from the Santa Monica Mountains to South Africa, from December 2-14, 2023!

This special safari for curious nature enthusiasts is handcrafted by True Wild in support of the National Wildlife Federation’s wildlife crossing and connectivity work.

Africa’s savannas are famous for the incredible abundance of wildlife they support and for being home to an intact ecosystem still inhabited by a large assemblage of megafauna. Jeff and Beth, together with exceptional local African guides, will take you on a visceral and enlightening journey through the African Bush, absorbing the beauty and exciting wilderness and wildlife, while delving into the ecology and biology of big cats and other wildlife, their behavior and the complexities associated with human coexistence.

Join us! Space is limited to just 12 people! Reserve your spot today. More information in this online trip brochurehttps://static.s123-cdn-static-d.com/uploads/1561955/normal_642217f470963.pdf
or contact Quinton at [email protected] or (707) 721 6560

09/08/2023

Let’s talk about Wild Dogs!

While we were in South Luangwa, staying at Kaingo Camp (Shenton Safaris), we experienced an incredible event! Quinton was guiding a group of 4 guests from the Bay Area when this pack of 16 wild dogs killed a puku antelope! Soon after, the hyenas came in to steal the remains of the kill which is not uncommon in the bush. Clearly the wild dogs didn’t appreciate this invasion!

The wild dogs are such successful hunters that in this area packed with predators the hyenas actually follow the dogs around hoping for a free meal. Other species such as hooded vultures also follow predators around in hopes of getting scraps, even going as far as feeding on the nutrient-rich predator p**p.

This was the first time this group of visitors had seen this interaction between hyenas and wild dogs and was certainly one of the more spectacular events Quinton has photographed over his extensive safari experience!

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09/01/2023

P39 aka Hillcrest has a new litter of kittens! Yesterday Doc Martins (Quinton😁) and Kate Remsen visited a site in West Sonoma County where the 3 kittens were found stashed in a very cosy hollow in a redwood fairy circle. The kittens are about 2 weeks old!

Now wait a minute, you’re probably thinking “what happened to her other litter?” We were thinking the same thing but we had found out that her previous litter of kittens, born in April, had been killed by another mountain lion on the 7th of May. Loss of kittens that age usually induces estrus within 2 weeks leading to Hillcrest mating again and 3 months later, here we are!

But this isn’t the only occurrence of kitten mortality that Hillcrest has endured: when she was first captured in August 2022, she had three 3 month old kittens in tow none of whom survived. We do not know the cause of their death.

Nonetheless, we’re so excited that Hillcrest has a new litter of kittens and hope for the best for these little ones!

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08/08/2023

While visiting safari camps in Botswana in 2022, Quinton and Liz met Marine Servonnat, who was managing a camp at the time. Over sundowners, they shared the work True Wild was doing and their previous research and conservation work on Cape Leopards in South Africa.

Marine spoke about her dream to get into conservation work more directly, with a focus on leopards and using guides and guests at safari camps to document and monitor leopard population dynamics. Quinton and Liz fully support the concept and helped to review her Ingwe Leopard Research project proposal.

True Wild is pleased to see this project taking shape and we ask anyone interested to consider supporting it in this exciting stage of development through this crowdfunding campaign!

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ingwe-leopard-research

Photos: 1st leopard - Quinton Martins, 2nd leopard - Ingwe Leopard Research

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07/28/2023

Around January 20, 2023, we noticed that P13 was clustering up in Trione-Annadel State Park, which means he was likely feeding on something. After investigating long after P13 had moved on, we found something incredible: P13 was feeding on a male mountain lion!

This is a common occurrence in the mountain lion world; a territorial male mountain lion will often kill and eat potentially rival males. He does this in order to keep and maintain his territory as any rival male could come in and start to reproduce with the females within said territory, effectively stopping the territorial male from passing along his own genetics.

Dubbed P43, this deceased male was most likely a young, dispersal male trying to establish his own territory before running into the stronger (and potentially older) P13.

After retrieving a permit from CDFW, the team collected the skull of P43 and proceeded to process and clean the specimen. True Wild’s Field Biologist, April Wood found the true cause of death for P43: a big bite to the head!

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06/30/2023

What a cool capture!

P13 effortlessly hopping a landowners 7-foot gate in Sonoma! This is such a great example of the incredible bounds these mountain lions can take in order to reach their intended goals (ie. food, females, etc). Mountain lions can actually jump 15 feet up in the air without a running start and this is mainly due to their powerful, longer back legs.

This is also another reason why it is imperative to have a roof on top of a pen for livestock or pets and to put them in at night when mountain lions are most active. By protecting your livestock from predators, you inherently protect wildlife as well. It's a win-win situation!

THANK YOU to the landowner who shared this video with us. Video representation of these fantastic feats of strength are so important to learning more about these illusive animals! If you happen to catch any photo or video of mountain lions in your area, please share them with us! We always love seeing wildlife in the wild!

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06/20/2023

The group traveled to the Skeleton Coast Camp today, passing through extraordinary landscapes and finding surprising signs of life: fresh lion tracks, fresh brown hyena tracks (second photo) and even desert elephant feeding from the trees along the narrow band of dry riverbed ribboning through the stark landscape.

Itching to get out into the bush with us? Message directly or reach out on our website (link in bio). We'd love to have you!

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