The Eastern Cougar once lived in 21 states in the U.S. but was included in the endangered species list in 1973. In the past decades though there has been no sighting of this animal except as ghost sightings prompting the US Fish and Wildlife Service to officially declare it off the endangered species list and extinct last March 2011.
In their formal statement to the public, they said that “The US Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a formal review of the available information and … concludes the Eastern Cougar is extinct and recommends the subspecies be removed from the endangered species list.”
The Eastern Cougar is also called the panther or puma. They have slim bodies and small heads but are known to be the biggest cat in North America. They slowly began to decrease in population because their habitat were turned into farms, residential lots and the ever expanding human population.
Hunting of cougars also became a popular sport as well as lack of food – also because of hunting. The cougars’ main food source are smaller animals like the deer and moose. Since are also animals targeted by hunters, the diminishing food source led to a decrease in cougar population as well.
In addition, the females cougars could only produce at most 3 cubs every 2 or 3 years. Most cougars under normal circumstances would live up to 8 years only.
Since cougars are predators, their enemies are mainly humans who shoot them down for sport or in defense of life. Other animals like the deer are no match for the power of the cougar. As far as environmentalists can determine, this animal is far from aggressive except when hungry. They have been described as shy and prefer to stay solitary instead of staying together.
Today, only the Western Cougars are known to exist in Canada and the United States.