Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Like most wild cats, cougars are highly secretive. Further, many of them live in the remote vastness
of wilderness areas. This makes any accurate assessment of their numbers a daunting task. Nonethe-
less, based on the best estimates possible under the circumstances, biologists have come up with a total
figure of 25,000 to 30,000 cougars in the United States and Canada. (These figures should be viewed
in light of the biologists' caveat that they are
very
rough estimates.)
Cougar numbers in the East (excluding Florida) are another matter. Cougars were long ago elimin-
ated from the East, but have they returned to their old haunts? Many people think so. Although the idea
of a thriving eastern cougar population is at best highly speculative, it's nonetheless hotly debated. Re-
ports of cougar sightings are rife in the northeastern states, and several organizations exist exclusively
to promote the belief that thousands of cougars roam the forests there.
Biologists point to the almost total lack of any hard evidence that these great cats are present as a
breeding population in the Northeast. They believe that most cougar sightings are cases of mistaken
identity, and those that are genuine are mostly “pet” cougars released into the wild.
It's an unfortunate fact that cougar kittens can easily be purchased from animal farms in some states.
Emotion overcomes some people when they view these undeniably adorable kittens and fail to foresee
the day when their call of, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” is answered by a cat weighing one hundred pounds
or more! Ultimately, owners who don't know what else to do with such a large and potentially dan-
gerous cat simply take it to a tract of forest land and release it. The tragedy is that cougars raised by
humans almost certainly lack the hunting skills to survive for long in the wild.
True believers scoff at the notion that most alleged sightings are cases of mistaken identity, or that
valid sightings are of “pet” cougars released into the wild. Further, they accuse wildlife biologists of
conspiring to hide the truth because they don't want an endangered species on their hands.
This view is both unfair and farfetched. Most biologists are fascinated by the big cats and would wel-
come the opportunity to study them firsthand. Further, it seems highly improbable that large numbers of
cougars could inhabit the area without leaving tangible evidence of their presence, such as tracks, drop-
pings, and deer kills. Cougars are certainly secretive and tend to keep out of sight, yet the endangered
and seldom seen Florida panther—of which only thirty to fifty remain—leaves ample evidence of its
existence.
Among other things, road-killed cougars are by no means unusual where cougars are known to exist.
There are at least sixteen documented road kills of the endangered Florida panther in the last two dec-
ades, yet not a single road-killed cougar has been reported elsewhere in the eastern United States.
Another puzzling phenomenon is that a high percentage of supposed cougar sightings are reported
as “black panthers.” The true black panther is a melanistic phase of the leopard, but there has never
been a single documented case of a melanistic cougar anywhere. However, in the minds of a substantial
portion of the public, the term “black panther” is firmly rooted, and so many black animals of various
sorts are reported as cougars, alias black panthers.
