Natural History Wanderings

The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife has officially announced that the Eastern Cougar is extinct.  This sub species of cougar has long been thought to be extinct.  It has been on the endangered species list since 1973 and traditionally appeared in 21 eastern states.  This subspecies differs from the Florida Panther which is a different subspecies and still exists.  It is believed that any cougars spotted in the eastern states are either western panthers, who have moved into the eastern areas or escaped pets that are South American Cougars.  It is believed the that the cougar decline is a result of the decrease in white-tailed deer, which was one its main prey and bounty hunting.   Read more in the Seattle Times: Eastern cougar formally declared extinct

Related Articles

• U.S. officials declare eastern cougar extinct (scientificamerican.com)
• Eastern Cougar Declared Extinct (huffingtonpost.com)