Impacts of infectious diseases on movement metrics in a large carnivore: Highly pathogenic avian influenza, leptospirosis, and pumas

Understanding how behavior and movement are affected during the clinical stages of infectious disease in hosts provides stronger insight into activity patterns. We identified changes in movement and behavioral metrics in seven satellite-collared pumas (<i>Puma concolor couguar</i>) that succumbed to <i>Leptospira</i> or highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). We used GPS data from pumas in California and Washington to estimate disease onset dates and investigated movement and behavioral (kill site, bed site, and slow local movement) changes before and after onset. Six pumas exhibited changes in movement metrics, along with longer bouts of those behaviors. For the seventh, consistently low movement precluded comparisons to normal behavior. Based on the onset dates, HPAI infection resulted in a more acute death than <i>Leptospira</i> infection. Our results highlight the potential of movement and behavioral metrics to study infectious disease effects on pumas and other carnivores, contributing to epidemiological and clinical features of these diseases in carnivores.