Plants and Ethnobotany of the San Luis Valley

Wildlife visitation at abandoned mines

“…The role of mines as potential sources of food was illustrated in fall 2017 when we were searching for mines and observed that mines may act as seed traps. We flushed a flock of birds from a shallow mine prospect and upon further examination noticed that the depression contained piñon pine seeds, which are an important food for many species of wildlife (Duran 2020). One nearby shallow (<1 m deep) vertical shaft that we monitored contained piñon and other seeds that attracted birds, rodents, and rabbits that may have attracted carnivores.…”

“…); cottonwood (Populus sp.) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) occurred along riparian areas and quaking aspen occurred up to timber line (Duran 2020). Large mammals characteristic of the Rocky Mountains included elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), American black bear, puma, bobcat, and coyote (Canis latrans; Armstrong et al 2011).…”

“…Pumas mate year-round on the Uncompahgre Plateau of Colorado where conception peaked in April and births peaked in July (Logan and Runge 2020). Our traditional view has been that adult pumas rarely associated outside the breeding season(Logan and Sweanor 2000), but recent research(Elbroch et al 2017) reported that adult pumas interact far more than previously understood.…”