Everything about The North American Cougar totally explained
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 died out in
1925, are also included in the subspecies.
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 is believed it was completely extirpated in the early 1900s. Some mainstream scientists believe that small
relict populations may exist (around 50 individuals), especially in the
Appalachian Mountains and eastern
Canada, but this idea is far more often found in the
protoscientific field of
cryptozoology, and also forms a common theme in
American folklore. Other theories ascribe modern sightings to 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.
Despite a dearth of hard evidence, sightings of cougars in the eastern United States are not as uncommon as they once were. Cougars with offspring have been sighted in Maine and Vermont in the past fifteen years. There have been verified cougar tracks and kills found in some states, including New York, which has had numerous sightings in the Adirondack and Catskill mountains. While most may be former captive animals released or escaped, the possibility of a sustained breeding population either incumbent or from migration isn't out of the question.
Genetic analysis of DNA from a Cougar sighting in Wisconsin in 2008 indicated that a Cougar was in Wisconsin and that it wasn't captive. It is speculated that the cougar migrated from a native population in the Black Hills of South Dakota; however, the genetic analysis couldn't 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 couldn't be done and a determination couldn't be made. . 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.
Sources
- Wright, Bruce S. The Eastern Panther: A Question of Survival. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company, 1972.
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