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The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the puma or mountain lion, is a New World mammal of the Felidae family. This large, solitary cat has a vast range, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An exceptionally adaptable species, the cougar is found every major New World habitat type. It is on average the second heaviest cat in the Americas after the jaguar and the fourth heaviest in the world, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar; the cougar is larger on average than the leopard, but is not typically counted among the "big cats" as it cannot roar and is classified in the Puma genus rather than Panthera.
Due to overhunting and continual human development of cougar habitat, populations have dropped in many parts of its historical range, although recent conservation efforts have allowed numbers to improve in some areas. However, cougar hunting is still common in the United States, and is permitted in every state from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean with the exception of California. The cougar is typically hunted with dogs that chase the animal until it climbs a tree, whereupon the hunters shoot it. State agency records show that over 30,000 cougars were killed for sport between 1996 and 2006, one of the highest totals for any decade on record
Cougar populations of the United States and Canada
Hunted almost to extinction in the United States and eastern Canada, the cougar has made a determined comeback, with an estimated 30,000 individuals in the western United States. In Canada, the cougar is found west of the prairies, in Alberta, British Columbia and southern Yukon. It is also found in smaller numbers within the Canadian Shield and river valley regions of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The densest concentration of cougars in North America is found on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, while in the United States the densest concentration is in the Ventana Wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest, California.[1]
The cougar is gradually extending its range to the east, following creeks and riverbeds, and has reached Missouri, Michigan and Kansas. In Texas, the cougar is generally confined to the western ⅔ of the state. However, there have been Cougar sightings in 218 of the 254 Texas counties, with confirmed mortalities in 67 counties since 1983, an indication that it is expanding statewide to its historical range.[4] There are continuing reports of the survival of a remnant population of the eastern cougar in New Brunswick, Ontario and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec.
In the eastern United States, rumors and myths of the cougar never died, but this cat is slowly making its way from myth to reality, especially along the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia to Georgia. In this region cougar sightings are steadily increasing, and a government bounty is offered in many places for confirmed sightings. One very compelling piece of evidence surfaced in June 1997, when a Kentucky man hit and killed a cougar kitten with his truck. DNA analysis proved that the animal was descended in part from wild North American cougars, and it showed no evidence of having been someone's escaped pet
Due to urbanization in the urban-wildland interface, cougar ranges increasingly overlap with human habitation, especially in areas with a large population of deer, its natural prey. In these cases, the cougar may occasionally prey on livestock and on pets, such as dogs and cats. Cougar attacks on humans have increased since the late 1980s when cougar hunting was effectively banned in many states and the cougar populations began to climb dramatically. Even so, cougar attacks are still rare. Also there have been some sightings in Pittsburgh of a cougar and tracks
