The good Cornellians can do: Jeff Ehrlich ’82

When Jeff Ehrlich '82 retired from his career in the fiber optics industry, he and his wife JoAnn Bergoffen '83 heard about the Bay Area Puma Project (BAPP) through some friends. They were eager to get involved.

BAPP works to protect puma (aka mountain lions) in the San Francisco Bay area, better understand their behavior, and reduce harm to both pumas and their human neighbors.

The couple volunteered to help with periodic scat surveys conducted by BAPP volunteers, and to monitor two of the 150+ cameras situated throughout the area to film the pumas. They had no prior experience with scat analysis, but quickly learned to distinguish puma scat from bobcat scat, and measure and collect samples for further analysis.

“The lab results are used to understand the health of the puma, as well as how human encroachment is affecting their behavior,” Jeff explains.

Jeff recently identified a puma with a kinked tail, in footage captured by one of the cameras.

“This is a known genetic condition due to in-breeding, indicating that the pumas in that area are restricted in their ability to travel and migrate,” he says. “One of my hopes is that this research can help push for increased wildlife crossings (overpasses, culverts, etc.) that will allow for greater mobility of the puma and decrease the number of collisions between pumas and cars. One underpass has already been constructed under a major highway; two more are in the planning stages to link different mountain ranges.”

Jeff says the puma work is part of his effort to make sure he gets his daily dose of “OATS”—to nourish his love of the outdoors, animals, theater/music, and science/technology.

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