Aging mountain lions using gum-line recession

The ability to accurately age mountain lions (Puma concolor) would be a val uable tool for management. However, no reliable or standardized technique i s currently available. We tested the accuracy of using gum recession as an aging technique. We measured gum recession of the upper canine teeth in 13 known-age individuals (12 females, 1 male). Cum recession was significantly related to age in months (R-2=81.0, t(28)=10.16, P<0.001), The 95% confide nce intervals for age estimations of lions based on gum recession ranged fr om +/-0.5 to 1.3 years. Cum recession appears to provide reasonably accurat e ages for free-roaming mountain lions.