Jessica Crabtree

A recent study by the US Fish & Wildlife Service has concluded that the Eastern subspecies of the North American cougar is extinct, and has been for at least 75 years.

Officially endangered since 1973, its existence was in question as early as the 1800s (Henry David Thoreau mourned its absence during his year-long stay in the New England woods).

Photo: Juvenile cougar (Wikipedia)

As colonial Europeans had advanced westward from the Atlantic coastline, clearing land and eliminating predators as they went, this native big cat was among the first of America’s predators to decline.

In recent years scientists have been on its trail with extensive study of its habitats, attempts at tracking, trapping, and even DNA research – with nothing to show. Add to this the fact that there has not been a confirmed sighting of one in over seven decades.

So what about all the cougar sightings in the eastern US? Apparently these are likely Western cougars whose territory is encroaching into the former range of its eastern cousin. In many cases the reports have been confirmed as panthers of South American species, escaped/released from captivity.

Some researchers point out, however, that the taxonomic “fine line” between subspecies may be finer than we think – in other words, eastern cougars may have interbred closely with cats of other regions as their habitat shrank and their numbers thinned. This genetic preservation – along with a flickering hope of a small breeding population holding out somewhere remote – may be the only thing keeping this cat as a potential missing-in-action.

Right: The Florida panther, another subspecies of cougar, is endangered but still inhabits a small patch of its natural territory in the Southeastern swamps, making it the only native big cat still at large in the eastern US. (Photo: National Geographic)

Wildlife Extra: Cougar subspecies declared extinct

US Fish & Wildlife Service: Press Release

Fish & Wildlife: Eastern Cougar (PDF)

New York Times: Eastern Cougar is Declared Extinct, With an Asterisk