Extending over 110 degrees latitude
- from the Straits of Magellan to the Canadian Yukon - the cougar has the most
extensive range of any terrestrial mammal in the western hemisphere. The cougar
extends from Canada southwards, being found west of the Great Plains and down
to southern Florida, through Mexico and Central America, and extending across
most of South America.
Although the puma is still the most widely
distributed of the New World's wild cats, its range has constricted dramatically
in recent years, particularly in North America, where it is now confined largely
to the western side of the continent. |
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Cougars are now being
seen more in urban areas of North America, and are becoming bolder. John Seidensticker,
an authority on the puma and other large cats, has suggested that this is because
in many regions pumas are now the dominant carnivores. If both bears and wolves
are eliminated, pumas fill this niche. Increasing development of towns and cities
is also taking place, which brings pumas into closer contact with people. In the
case of Vancouver, the ideal puma habitat is just 5 miles (8 km) from the city
center. Young cats, once they are independent, are being pushed out into the suburbs
from here by older, established individuals. As they are not hunted in the suburbs
their numbers increase and they are less fearful and consequently
more of a menace. |
| There is no doubt that human pressures
have exerted a toll on puma numbers in various parts of North America. As a result
the eastern panther (Puma concolor cougar) has been brought to the verge
of extinction - if it is not, as some people believe, already extinct. This race
of puma formerly extended from the eastern USA into Canada, and westwards to Alberta
and the edge of the Great Plains. Most recent reports of sightings, according
to the Eastern Puma Research Network, have been made in West Virginia. There is
some dispute, however, as to whether these sightings refer to genuine eastern
panthers or to escaped or discarded pets. Since pumas may live for up to twenty
years, their captive |
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| population may be numbering many hundreds, if not thousands.
The secretive and adaptable nature of these cats suggests that eliminating them
from such a vast area of territory would be a major undertaking, therefore, the
probability is that they do still survive, although in very reduced numbers. |
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Further
south in the USA, the status of the Florida race of the puma (Puma concolor
cory) has become critical, although the population still exists. Numbering
between thirty and fifty individuals, these cats have declined in the face of
greatly increased development in the area, and after decades of hunting pressure.
This race used to be widely distributed through the southern states, from eastern
Texas through Arkansas and Mississippi into parts of Tennessee, South Carolina
and Florida.
Attempts to save it began in 1976, with the setting up of a Recovery Team appointed
by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Considerable effort has been put into maintaining
a secure area |
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| of habitat for these cats. Already 3.4 million
sq miles is in public ownership, and further acquisitions are planned. Collisions
with vehicles represents the greatest direct threat to these cats - between 1972
and 1991 seventeen died as a result. The Federal Government has included special
underpasses in the building of Interstate 75, with thirty-six crossing points,
backed by fences to prevent the pumas wandering across the road. To help preserve
this race of pumas, a captive breeding program has been established. It has begun
with a pair of cats which had been injured in road accidents, along with six kittens
obtained in 1991. Considerable publicity has also been given to the plight of
the Florida panther in its last remaining stronghold, and this cat was designated
the official mammal of the state in 1982. |
