North American Puma/Cougar - extinct?

[seprim]

Hi
I have been notified by a friend that there is a facebook story going around that the North American Puma/Cougar [puma concolor] is extinct. Is this true?
I have looked at the IUCN red list of threatened species and they assert that the Puma [puma concolor] is "LC" Least concern, meaning there are many and spread out all over the north and south americas.
Any anecdotal or hunter experience would be most gratefully accepted to assist with this query.
Kind regards

Andrew

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Extinct? Hardly......state of Michigan did it's best to not confirm the presence of cougars in the U.P.; finally had to admit it after finding scat and doing DNA testing. Dept. of Natural Resources now has to come up with a "plan" (as well as $$$) to "manage" the resource.
We hunted about 10 years ago in the area where all this went down, and my friend and I BOTH found scat/tracks in the area we were hunting. You will also find that there are several western states that have hunting seasons for said animals..............if they were "extinct", wouldn't make much sense to have a season for it, would it?

Sounds like leftist, animal rights bullshit to me...........

 

[BRICKBURN]

Come and take some. Please.
Vancouver Island has enough to repopulate any place you would need to.

 

[JimP]

There are however some areas here in the states such as Florida that the native large cats have a very low population.

 

[LivingTheDream]

No where near extinct, the guys I know in Arizona and Oregon consider them a pest and see them all the time. There is alot of country between Oregon and Arizona.

 

[rinehart0050]

We've got lots of mountain lions here in Arizona. I know multiple people on my base that have seen them in the morning during physical training hours and my boss actually had one sitting on his door step one morning.

Arizona has a hunting season for them.

 

[cpr0312]

To my knowledge, you can hunt them in Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. There may be another state or 2 I missed. They are also still up and down the eastern seaboard states. People see them every year in my home state of NC

 

[thriller]

Andrew,
You have been lied to. Facebook is not a reliable news source on animal species and their well being, or any other matter. False information is the enemy of meaningful conversation. We are glad to impart any knowledge we have ask away.


The cougar is doing well and huntable populations exist in many countries. Google (puma concolor range maps and population size). there are many statistics out there showing how many there are.

 

[JimP]

Arizona has a hunting season for them.

Yep, the kind of hunting season that I like, all year long.

 

[cpr0312]

Me too @JimP !

Arizona is where I took my cat

 

[BRICKBURN]

........... Facebook is not a reliable news source on animal species and their well being, or any other matter. ..............

Too true.

 

[seprim]

Thanks everyone - I thought it might be a red herring, I have advised my facebook friend as such and "mytop.fm" is now off my credible sites list. Its incredible how much cobblers can be spread in such little time with facebook.

Andrew

 

[Red Leg]

The big cats are actually increasing their range as the country becomes more urban. They are sighted and filmed on trail cameras relatively often here along the San Gabriel River and we are only 45 minutes from downtown Austin, TX. And there is even a healthy population in Los Angeles County which has adapted surprisingly well to an urban environment.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Me too @JimP !

Arizona is where I took my cat

Yeah your cat was a monster!

 

[sheephunterab]

A lot of talk about Eastern Cougar being extinct but there are still spotty reports. In the west, however, they are doing better than ever and routinely hunted.

 

[Philip Glass]

Wow! The internet really has some downsides. Stupid nonsense!
They are killing my friends livestock all the time in West Texas.
Whether you call them mountain lion, cougar or puma they are doing very well.
Philip

 

[Velo Dog]

Recently in California, cougars have reportedly stalked and mauled people (joggers/hikers).

In 2002 an Alaska State Trooper reported seeing one in the Skagway area ("Panhandle" area of Alaska).

Skagway is geographically not far from British Columbia, Canada.

Canadian Biologists report a healthy population of cougars in B.C. that, is estimated to be well over 3,000 of these large cats.

So it's remarkable that, there are not more cougar sightings in Alaska than there are.

? Perhaps it's because Alaska does not have very many deer compared to our huge land mass, and we have extremely low numbers of farm animals, such as chickens, cattle, domestic goats and sheep.

Basically, we don't have a substantial cattle industry and only have a hand full of "hobby farmers", in the entire state.

Every year there are rumors of cougar sightings in Alaska but, unfortunately most are not verified with photos.

In regards to North, Central and South America - Pacific Coastal regions, cougars/pumas abide in healthy / substantial population numbers, from about the Southern tip of South America / Tierra del Fuego, to at least as far North as mentioned, in British Columbia.

"Quite often, mentally ill people become offended, if not aggressive, by any sane person's attempt at factual communication".

 

[rinehart0050]

"Quite often, mentally ill people become offended, if not aggressive, by any sane person's attempt at factual communication".

Nice quote @Velo Dog. I can think of quite a few interest groups that applies to!

 

[Divernhunter]

Not hardly. A few years back, the last time I hunted deer, I saw more cougars than bucks and this was during the daytime. Thanks to the ban on hunting them in California they have just about wiped out the deer(and other animals) in some areas. Also the retarded democrats that pushed the law thru are complaining about there pets in the cities being eaten by them as well as a couple of people attacked/killed. Heck the law enforcement had to kill one in a tree near me and I am in the middle of the central valley with farm land and cities all around me. They should have captured it and released it in the middle of LA since they were so fond of them.

 

[ack]

Hi
I have been notified by a friend that there is a facebook story going around that the North American Puma/Cougar [puma concolor] is extinct. Is this true?
I have looked at the IUCN red list of threatened species and they assert that the Puma [puma concolor] is "LC" Least concern, meaning there are many and spread out all over the north and south americas.
Any anecdotal or hunter experience would be most gratefully accepted to assist with this query.
Kind regards

Andrew

Well they are killing an awful lot of our mule deer in Colorado and they prolific all the way from Alaska to Argentina..