Frequent cougar sightings have been reported in over twenty midwestern US states as well as in Canada over the past year and a half. Because cougars have not inhabited these parts of North America for over a century, the sightings initially were met with sketpicism. Yet recent photographs, DNA evidence, and carcasses of cougars have removed any remaing doubt that cougars (Puma concolour) are moving back into the region. This increased frequency of confirmed cougar sightings indicates their numbers may be on the rise.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions, panthers or pumas, are the fourth largest type of cat in the world. Their former range extended from coast to coast across North America but by 1960 they were declared extinct in most midwestern and eastern ranges. News that the large cats are now reinhabiting parts of their former range gives conservationists reason for hope. Large predators such as cougars often play a key role in the ecosystems in which they evolved.

Officials first suspected that many of the cougars spotted in the midwest were privately kept animals that had escaped into the wild. But now wildlife experts believe that the animals are indeed part of a growing wild population.

Find out more:

• Debate Surrounds Midwestern Mountain Lion Sightings
• Cougars Moving into US Midwest (National Geographic)
• Cougar reports on the rise in eastern US (National Geographic)

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