In the Shadow of the Carmens: Afield with a Naturalist in the Northern Mexican Mountains

7. Campo Cinco, Pumas, and Spotted What's-Its

Campo Cinco is high in the Carmens, another meadow in the fir-pine forest. Formerly it was called Campo Madera, a lumber camp and hub of activity during the logging operation years. Several wood-plank houses, clotheslines, and tons of broken glass, plastic bottles, tires, and general junk littered the area. Once it was cleaned up, it looked like a different place. One small wooden hut remains in the clearing today. A huge pile of sawdust had us all shaking our heads about how to remove it. Every rainstorm caused the tannin from the sawdust to leach out into the small stream, coloring the water a rusty red. Finally, the sawdust was mixed with the soil, and much of it was removed and hauled down the mountain to use as mulch. Today, native grasses and pine seedlings are growing in the area. It isn’t a large area, but rather an opening in the forest of several acres with mountain muhly grass, southwestern chokecherry, wildflowers, and huge limestone boulders. Carmen Mountain white-tails graze peacefully here in the small meadow. Campo Cinco is a central point in the high country of the Carmens. From here you can turn upward to Campo Tres, Pico Loomis, Campo Dos, and Mesa Bonita. Drive eastward a little ways and head downward to Cañón Carboneras and Campo Uno. Two events occurred at Campo Cinco that I will always remember —one was very funny, and the other dramatic, in the life-and-death sense. 7 Campo Cinco, Pumas, and Spotted What’s-Its In the Shadow of the Carmens 54 The life-and-death incident occurred several years ago. At the time, Jonás and I were headed up the mountain on four-wheelers to collect plants on the way to Campo Uno. Mauro Alonso, the mechanic for El Carmen, was about thirty minutes in front of us. He called on the radio and said that a puma had just killed a Carmen Mountain white-tail doe right in the road. We thanked him for the information and gunned the fourwheelers up the mountain. We reached Cinco and the doe was still warm and bleeding. With our disturbance, the puma had moved off into the forest, but I am sure that he was hidden nearby. We radioed Pilares and asked Billy Pat to bring us a remote camera on his way up the mountain. While we waited for him to arrive, we hid in the firs and boulders and watched for the puma, but there was no sign of it. I am sure the cat was watching us look for it. About an hour and a half later, Billy Pat arrived and we hauled the doe up the hill, wired her to a tree, and then set two remote cameras. We knew the puma would be back. We quickly left the area and headed down to Campo Uno to collect plants. On the way down the canyon, I was thinking about the peacefulness of that small meadow with deer grazing, the small creek trickling , and the firs whispering in the wind. I could imagine the puma lying motionless, waiting with infinite patience for the right moment to jump on the doe. Perhaps the wind was perfect and in his favor; the deer probably never sensed his presence and the attack was swift and typical, a quick rush breaking her neck. While she lay bleeding and kicking, her lifeblood was draining away, and the puma anticipated his meal. Perhaps he had not eaten in several days, or maybe it was a female with cubs to feed. Life and death in nature are daily occurrences. Hopefully, it balances out and enough creatures are born and survive so that others may also survive. Predators and prey are never pretty stories, but they do summarize reality for many species. Pumas are large solitary cats that have very extensive home ranges. They prefer fresh meat Campo Cinco, 2002 55 Campo Cinco, Pumas, and Spotted What’s-Its over tainted and often go several days without food. They are high-class predators, but even they miss their marks at times. The puma’s favorite prey in northern Mexico and western Texas is deer, and if they are not available, other species such as javelina, cottontail, black-tailed jackrabbits , porcupines, and other small mammals, and even turkeys, are fair game. Desert bighorn sheep populations suffer heavily from puma...