November 2019 • Nebraskaland 37
Five genetic surveys of the Pine Ridge, dating
back to before the collaring project began,
have been extremely valuable for making
population estimates. Karen DeMatteo (at
left with Linsey Blake) has taught her dog,
Train, to be proficient at finding mountain
lion scat. Whether he's in Nebraska or
Argentina, he's good at it. Upon collecting
the scat (right), samples are swabbed and
sent to a lab for genetic analysis. DeMatteo,
Train and Game and Parks staff hiked
321.75 miles this year over rugged Pine
Ridge terrain (above). From those extensive
searches researchers have the opportunity
to obtain DNA from all cougars in the region
at a given time, aside from kittens in dens.
