Eastern Cougar, North America's Most Endangered Animal

There are less than 100 know to exist on the North American continent. They once roamed from the Northeast to the Gulf of Mexico. The thick woods and dense underbrush that used to be their home is now your home, your neighbor's home, shopping centers, roads, highways, schools, office buildings, businesses and ball fields. They are smaller than their western cousins, yet the males still roam over 400 square miles and the females just under 100 square miles as their habitat. Their favorite food is deer, and they are known by over 50 different names.

These are the Eastern Cougars, also known as the North American Cougar and the Eastern Panther. The North American Cougar (Puma concolor couguar), is the 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.

There is no active repopulation program in operation anywhere in the country, even though these rare cats are critically endangered and on the brink of extinction. However, the Wildlife Sanctuary in Ellijay, Georgia has three females and is looking into the ways, means, rules and regulations to start a breeding and release program. Surprisingly, few people in the United States realize that such a near extinction condition exists in North America. Most of the publicity about threatened species is devoted to exotic species on other continents, such as the critically endangered Javan Rhino, or the endangered Snow Leopard. Awareness of the Eastern Cougar as critically endangered and actions to bring this cat back from the brink of extinction in the wild are two of the objectives of the Wildlife Sanctuary.

There are lots of resistance factors to such a program, including state and federal rules and regulations, people fears, and funding, which is nearly as extinct as the cats themselves. People don't mind seeing this cat in a cage, but no one wants to see one in their backyard. In actuality, people rarely see their cousins out west. They are extremely reclusive and live in remote areas, although they roam widely in search of food or mates. The occasional conflict out west is usually between a cougar and livestock. Attacks on man are usually attempted by sick, injured or starving cougars. In the East, there are remote areas suitable for release where food is abundant, but there simply aren't cats available.

Over the past 40 years, there have been sporadic sightings in the wild, although most officials will claim these are "pets" that were released or cougars that escaped from captivity. This is fairly unlikely. Cougars learn what prey to pursue from their mother. It is a learned behavior. Pets and cats kept in captivity have not learned to pursue any prey, so it is not likely they would survive in the wild. And, given the very large area a wild cougar will roam, it should be expected that there might be sightings in the East from remnants of the species. However, that hardly ensures their survival.

The absence of the Eastern Cougar, and development by man has created another animal issue: the overpopulation of deer. Absent their main predator, deer numbers have exploded across the eastern United States. They are also more concentrated because their habitat has also become homes, buildings, roadways and golf courses.

Man has upset the balance of nature. To restore it, we must reintroduce the Eastern Cougar to its natural habitat. This earth isn't just about us. We are part of nature, and our ability to build almost anything, anywhere has wiped our species, driven others to the brink of extinction, introduced toxins (ranging from volatile chemical compounds to antibiotics) into virtually every pond, stream, river and lake across the land, and unbalanced nature.

With your support, the Wildlife Sanctuary in Ellijay, Georgia will be able to pursue the development of a cougar breeding and wild release program for the Eastern Cougar. If we don't begin soon, clearing the bureaucratic hurdles may take more time than these special creatures have left. And, a single major hurricane directly striking the Florida everglades could devastate the best source for male cougars to breed with the sanctuary's three females. Then, the only other possibility would be to breed Eastern Cougars with Western Cougars, making reproduction somewhat more difficult.

These are the only two possibilities for Eastern Cougar recovery. Without such a program, it is possible that this animal will become extinct within the next few decades. This, along with continued pressure on the Western Cougar from development, could eliminate these majestic cats throughout America in our lifetime.