Hum Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 The eastern cougar has been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, confirming decades of suspicion that the elusive subspecies was no more. The large, solitary predatory cat once lived in every Eastern U.S. state in a variety of habitats, including coastal marshes, mountains and forests, said Dr. Mark McCollough, the agency's lead scientist for the eastern cougar. But you've probably never seen an eastern cougar - the last confirmed identification was in 1938 in Maine. Other subspecies of the cougar, also known commonly as mountain lions, wildcats, panthers and pumas, still exist in the United States, including the Florida panther. Scientists have held out hope, based on scattered reports, that a few eastern cougars remained. Those sightings turned out to be other subspecies from the Western United States - where the cougar population is growing and expanding its range eastward - or captive animals that were freed or escaped. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted March 3, 2011 Member Share Posted March 3, 2011 Darn. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosh Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 there are plenty of "cougars" where i live :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceBreakerG Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 They're extinct because John and Jack Marston killed all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Guess the sheepskin morons didn't hear the news that there is a breeding population of cougars in Michigan, as confirmed by the state DNR last year. Their statement limited the cats to the eastern upper peninsula, but hunters have been seeing them in the southern lower for over 30 years - with many sightings within 20 miles of Detroit along the path of the Rouge and Huron Rivers. Enough of 'em to get caught on video & be shown on local news several times. There have even been attacks on dogs and horses. IMO if they're in southern Michigan, and they are because I'm one of those who have seen them, they're in northern Ohio and Indiana too. Why? Because I saw one in Hillsdale County, right across the border from both in the 3-corners region. I could have thrown a rock into Ohio from where I saw it while deer hunting. Goes right along with a positively huge population of prairie wolves. Packs of those run everywhere, and have been documented in downtown Detroit and most suburban cities. In the countryside they're everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 ^ They are talking about a specific type of cougar -- not all cougars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Puma concolor couguar is what we've got, what the Eastern Cougar is, and is also what these geniuses say is "extinct." We in the Midwest have photos, videos, DNA from feces and dead cats showing them not to be escaped S. American cats (negating the 'escaped captive' argument), plus our neighbors in Ontario also show a population. Michigan's DNR is also on record as saying the population is increasing. Thing is that States from Missouri to Mass. and into Maine show populations, so instead of protecting them they get delisted thereby removing Federal protections? One more example of the States having more on the ball than the Feds. Wonder if they'll sue us for "usurping Federal law" by enforcing our own protections :p Side point: I have a friend who is a field agent for the DNR. Those guys think think this is a total hoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJerman Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 there are plenty of "cougars" where i live :laugh: Damn you for beating me to the joke! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frylock86 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 there are plenty of "cougars" where i live :laugh: I see what you did thar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hell-In-A-Handbasket Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 1 was strolling across my parents yard about a year ago, and we are less then 90 miles from Wash DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ir0nw0lf Subscriber² Posted March 4, 2011 Subscriber² Share Posted March 4, 2011 there are plenty of "cougars" where i live :laugh: Indeed, the Southern "cougar" is also very much alive and well :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted March 4, 2011 Veteran Share Posted March 4, 2011 On the land where I grew up there were plenty of mountain lions and bears :p In Ohio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reacon Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I live in the forested mountains of Montana. Lots of cougars, and I know of more than one person who has gotten attacked by one. Lucky for them they were carrying bearspray and dogs. Otherwise they'd likely be dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 They're extinct because John and Jack Marston killed all of them. Not before the cougars got the best of them several times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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