North American Cougar

North American Cougar[1]
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Puma
Species:	P. concolor
Subspecies:	P. c. couguar
Trinomial name
Puma concolor couguar (Kerr, 1792)

The North American Cougar (Puma concolor couguar), is the cougar subspecies once commonly found in eastern North America and still prevalent in the western half of the continent. As well as several previous subspecies of cougar of the western United States, Puma concolor couguar encompasses the remaining populations of the Eastern Cougar, where the cat was almost universally referred to by the name Panther, the only unequivocally known of which is the critically endangered Florida Panther population. Many extinct populations, such as the Wisconsin Cougar, which was extirpated in 1925, are also included in the subspecies.

Overall population

Several populations still exist and are thriving in the western United States, but the North American cougar was once commonly found in eastern portions of the United States and Canada. It was believed to be extirpated in the early 1900s. Cougars in Michigan were thought to have been killed off and extinct in the early 1900's. Today there is evidence to support that cougars could be on the rise in Mexico and could have a substantial population in years to come. Some mainstream scientists believe that small relict populations may exist (around 50 individuals), especially in the Appalachian Mountains and eastern Canada. Recent scientific findings in hair traps in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick have confirmed the existence of at least three cougars in New Brunswick. Some theories postulate that modern sightings and scientific data (hair samples) are from a feral breeding population of former pets, possibly hybridizing with native North American cougar remnants, or claim that cougars from the western United States have been rapidly expanding their range eastwards. The Ontario Puma Foundation estimates that there are currently 850 cougars in Ontario.

Sightings of cougars in the eastern United States continue today, despite their status as extirpated. Cougars with offspring have been sighted in Maine, Vermont, and Michigan in the past fifteen years.^[3]. There have been verified cougar tracks and kills found in some states, includingan]] has had numerous sightings across the state in the Upper Peninsula and now more commonly in the lower part of Michigan. Virginia has also had many sightings throughout the state. While most may be former captive animals released or escaped, the possibility of a sustained breeding population either incumbent or from migration is not out of the question.^[4]

Chicago incident

Genetic analysis of DNA from a cougar sighting in Wisconsin in 2008 indicated that a cougar was in Wisconsin and that it was not captive. It is speculated that the cougar migrated from a native population in the Black Hills of South Dakota; however, the genetic analysis could not affirm that hypothesis. It is also uncertain whether there are other, perhaps breeding, cougars. However, a second sighting was reported and tracks were documented in a nearby Wisconsin community. Unfortunately, a genetic analysis could not be done and a determination could not be made.^[5] This cougar later made its way south into the northern Chicago suburb of Wilmette. On April 14 2008, a cougar triggered a flurry of reports before being cornered and killed in the Chicago neighborhood of Roscoe Village while officers tried to contain it. The cougar was the first sighted in the city limits of Chicago since the city was founded in 1833.^[6]

Sources

• Wright, Bruce S. The Eastern Panther: A Question of Survival. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company, 1972.

References

1. ^ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 544-545. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
2. ^ Cat Specialist Group (1996). Puma concolor ssp. couguar. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this subspecies is critically endangered and the criteria used
3. ^ "Michigan Citizens Cougar Recognition". MCCR. http://www.michigancougar.com/CountySightings/michigancounties.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
4. ^ "Northeast Corfirmation Reports". CougarNetwork. http://www.cougarnet.org/northeast.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
5. ^ "Hills Mountain Lion May Have Migrated To Wisconsin". CougarNetwork. http://www.channel3000.com/news/15743424/detail.html?rss=c3k&psp=news. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
6. ^ Manier, Jeremy; Shah, Tina (15 April 2008). "Cops kill cougar on North Side". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-cougar-shot-webapr15,0,98147.story. Retrieved 2008-04-15. 

See also

• Eastern Cougar

External links

• Eastern Cougar Foundation
• National Heritage Information Centre: General Element Report: Felis concolor couguar
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Eastern Cougar Fact Sheet
• Puma concolor couguar: Eastern Cougar
• The Cougar Network
• The Eastern Cougar
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
• Metroland article Cougars, Coyotes, and Bears, Oh My
• Adirondack Explorer article Cougars Coming Our Way
• Hills Mountain Lion May Have Migrated To Wisconsin
• Michigan DNR Cougar Page
• Cougars at Michigan Wildlife Conservancy