Eastern puma declared extinct in United States, here's why
Digital Reporter
Thursday, January 25, 2018, 7:21 PM - The eastern puma has been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
It's been 80 years since the last confirmed sighting of this species. Therefore, the agency has removed the eastern puma from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.
"Our decision to remove the eastern puma from the List due to extinction is based on information and analysis showing that the eastern puma likely has been extinct for many decades, long before its listing under the Act," a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice reads. "Eastern puma sightings have not been confirmed since the 1930s, and genetic and forensic testing has confirmed that recent validated puma sightings in the East, outside Florida, were animals released or escaped from captivity, or wild pumas dispersing eastward from western North America."
Discussions began in 2015 after the agency sought review from the public and scientific experts to ensure their decision was based on scientifically sound data and analyses, according to the notice.
The eastern puma, also referred to as cougar, mountain lion and catamount, was originally listed as an endangered species in June 1973. The animal was once the most widely distributed native wild land mammal in the New World. In Canada the species occupied southeastern Ontario, southern Quebec and New Brunswick.
Manitoba was the easternmost part of Canada for which there was evidence of a cougar population, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice.
Meanwhile, in the United States the species was spotted in Maine, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky and South Carolina.
East of Mississippi, the only remaining subspecies that continues to breed is the Florida panther.
The Service cited several severe threats that led to the extinction of the eastern puma including, indiscriminate shooting, trapping, poisoning, and deforestation.
"Further, pumas are prone to extirpation because of their relatively small population sizes and low population densities, large habitat area requirements, and relatively slow population growth traits," the notice reads.
In November 2017, the carcass of a partially-frozen cougar was spotted on the side of the road northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont.
