Pumas are highly adaptable large cats increasingly navigating human-modified landscapes, where vehicle strikes, trapping and conflict with ranchers cause significant welfare harm.
Pumas struck by vehicles suffer acute traumatic injury — those not killed instantly are found injured and in pain by wildlife responders. Snare trapping for population control causes prolonged suffering. Poison baiting directed at prey species kills pumas that consume contaminated carcasses. Urban-edge pumas living in fragmented habitats near human development face chronic stress from compressed territories and human-conflict risk that accumulates over lifetimes.