Figure 1: Conceptual diagram showing birth pulse phenology and the profitability of predator search behavior. Panels a) and b) are representative of species that can only successfully capture neonates during a limited time period (e.g., bears, coyotes, bobcats), beyond which neonates mature to the point where they have escaped the majority of predation. Panel a) represents a population with a high density of neonates; the period in which the number of neonates available (blue line) exceeds the critical density is the period when active search is profitable. Panel b) represents a population with a low density of neonates that never exceeds the critical density such that actively searching is never the optimal strategy. Panel c) represents species that can capture juvenile ungulates throughout their entire first year of life (and beyond; e.g., cougars), such that it is profitable to search as soon as the critical density has been exceeded.