March Mammal Madness

#2025MMM CHAMPIONSHIP
EMOJI BATTLE

🐻‍❄️🆚😼:🌋🧊/🪨↔️🪨/😼🪄😤
🐻‍❄️🪄👀/😼🤫🐾/😼😤🔜
🐻‍❄️🩼🦌/🐻‍❄️🦌🏞️/🐻‍❄️🔪🦌
😼🛬🦌/😼🦷🦌/🐻‍❄️🩼↪️
😼🩸🔊/🐻‍❄️🔉/😼🔪🦌/😼➡️
🐻‍❄️🔊/🐻‍❄️🧍🏻🦌/🐻‍❄️🦷🦌/😼🛫
😼🏃🏽‍♂️‍➡️👋🏽/🐻‍❄️🍽️🦌/🐻‍❄️🛡️🦊
🏆🐻‍❄️

a blue background with a cartoon character and the word canal on the bottom right ALT: a blue background with a cartoon character and the word canal on the bottom right

Thank you for another great season of March Mammal Madness from Genetics Team!
@acstone.bsky.social
@cegamorim.bsky.social
@elinork.bsky.social
@afogel29.bsky.social
@elliecat.bsky.social
@lucasrocm.bsky.social
@n8upham.bsky.social
@carloschalicothere.bsky.social
and myself!

#2025MMM

#2025MMM CHAMPION: POLAR BEAR

Thank you so much for following along, and we can't wait to see you next year for #2026MMM!

Remember: if you're learning, you're winning!

kermit the frog and miss piggy from the muppet show are talking to each other Alt: kermit the frog and miss piggy from the muppet show are talking to each other and kermit says, good luck kid

Until NEXT WE MEET- GOOD NIGHT & GOOD LUCK!!!

#2025MMM

a painting of a mountain lion walking through the woods . ALT: a painting of a mountain lion walking through the woods .

AND help protect Pumas!

(good for nature, good for hunting dogs)
#2025MMM

Find out more from the Mountain Lion Foundation!
mountainlion.org

a polar bear with its mouth open and teeth showing ALT: a polar bear with its mouth open and teeth showing

THANK YOU EVERYONE for another INCREDIBLE MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS! #2025MMM

Please help defend the Arctic and protect Polar Bears!

www.defendthearctic.org

Estimates of the range-wide population size of adult and subadult Florida panthers from 1981 to 2020 using: (1) the 95% lower confidence interval of the motor vehicle mortality (MVM) model-averaged abundance estimate plotted in blue for the period 2000–2018 (2) the minimum population count (MPC) plotted in orange, for the period 1981–2015; (3) and the integrated population model plotted in grey, for the period 1982–2020. The year in which genetic rescue was initiated (1995) coincides with the subsequent increase in the population size that was documented by all three metrics.

Though the puma didn't come out on top here, the species' resilience is unquestionable! Genetic analyses from Onorato et al. show a 20x increase in effective pop size and reduced signs of inbreeding in FL pumas after genetic rescue from Texas pumas. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #2025MMM #RIP

#2025MMM #2025MMMChampion #DivisionTuxedoStyle #TeamPolarBear Art by Olivia Pellicer @opellisms.bsky.social Mary C Freisner @maryfreisner.bsky.social Valeria Pellicer @veppart.bsky.social and Charon Henning @oddangel.bsky.social

POLAR BEAR IS THE #2025MMM CHAMPION!!!!

ARTWORK by @veppart.bsky.social!

Polar Bear guards the caribou carcass, chasing away sneaky sneak Arctic foxes for TWO HOURS

consuming 60% of the caribou meat!!!

(Stempniewicz et al. 2021) #2025MMM

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Article The noble cats and the big bad scavengers: effects of dominant scavengers on solitary predators Original Paper Published: 13 July 2012 Volume 66, pages 1297–1304, (2012)

PUMA FLEES the FIELD OF BATTLE! (Krofel et al. 2012) #2025MMM

"Cougars may lose a considerable energy investment when displaced by an aggressive scavenger or may incur injuries when defending their kills"

and do not fight to recover a stolen carcass from such a dominant scavenger!!

(Murphy et al. 1998) #2025MMM

In some regions, at times, puma-killed ungulates can support most of bear nutritional needs- bears eavesdrop on cougars, moving toward their calls and steal their kills! #KLEPTOPARASITISM (Rabe et al. 2025; Murphy et al. 1998; Engebretsen et al. 2021; Suraci et al. 2017) #2025MMM

After all... URSIDS ROUTINELY DISPLACE PUMA FROM SUCCESSFUL KILLS!!! #2025MMM

BLANK-FACED PUMA, but you can tell it's full of disdain and frustration.

PUMA STARES WITH POWERLESS DISDAIN AT THE CARCASS-STEALING URSID THIEF! #2025MMM

Figure 3. Polar bear Ursus maritimus with a killed reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus on skerries (a), dragging it on to the beach (b), eating it (c) and trying to bury it (d). Photos: P. Klicz and P. Nowosad

POLAR BEAR LEANS DOWN, AND WITH STILL STRONG JAWS

"RIPS THE CARIBOU OPEN AND EATS ITS FLESH"

SHEARING CARIBOU TISSUE WITH CARNASSIALS!!

(Stempniewicz et al. 2021; Tremblay et al. 2025) #2025MMM

PUMA SPRINGS BACKWARDS FROM THE MASSIVE BEAR! #2025MMM

Polar Bear RUSH CHARGES ON THREE LEGS TO 3-POINT STAND ON THE CARIBOU CARCASS!!! #2025MMM

Fig 2. Canine breakage categories. (A) Canine classifications (starting top left clockwise): 1, 3, 2, 1. Side panels depict illustrative approximate vertical cut-offs for each breakage classification and real-life examples associated with each category, denoted by number. Images taken by David McGeachy and Andrew E. Derocher. Image in Panel A reprinted from [52] under a CC BY license, with permission from Andrew E. Derocher, original copyright [2023]. Illustrations by Simonne S. Tremblay. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319753.g002

Male-Male Battles for Mates & Carcasses can cause significant canine breakage, especially as male polar bears reach older ages! PAPER DROPPED LAST WEEK!!!

(Tremblay et al. 2025) #2025MMM

POLAR BEAR HUFF-ROARS AT PUMA

SHOWING THAT THAT ONE OF HIS CANINES IS BROKEN!!!!

FROM MALE-MALE BATTLES

AMONG ADULT POLAR BEARS!!!!

(Tremblay et al. 2025) #2025MMM

Puma keeps pulling the caribou carcass through the geothermal wetland

as Polar Bear watches from a 3-point stance, holding his injured paw tucked to his chest!

#2025MMM

AND the injured foreleg can not support Polar Bear's weight while he reaches with his good paw

to claw-grasp-YOINK the carcass!!!

#2025MMM

With his injured foreleg, Polar Bear can not reach out to grab & pull the caribou carcass...

#2025MMM

Puma deploys vicious claws into the caribou carcass to hold onto the prey!

#2025MMM

Polar Bear assesses the scene of inter-species competition at a carcass,

Polar Bear makes huffing & jaw popping sounds

of subtle, but overt

aggression

(Miller et al. 2015) #2025MMM

PUMA lifts his face smeared with blood gives a harsh, hissing alarmed GROWL-SNARL-SCREAM at the danger presented by the marauding Polar Bear.

(Allen et al. 2016) #2025MMM

ENTER, THE POLAR BEAR!

#2025MMM

With rapid tearing, Puma rips into the torso of the caribou to eat the nutrient-rich organs first when...

(Alt & Eckert 2017; Murphy et al 2010) #2025MMM

PUMA bites into the caribou's throat, causing rapid hemorrhaging,

and clamping tight with his jaws,

crushes the caribou's trachea,

suffocating the caribou quickly.

(White et al. 2020) #2025MMM

PUMA SPRING-POUNCES FROM AMBUSH, BRINGING DOWN THE CARIBOU!!!!!

Puma "readily consume a variety of secondary ungulate prey, such as elk, caribou, & moose"

(Engebretsen et al. 2021) #2025MMM