Off the List

The eastern cougar, Puma concolor couguar, is officially being removed from the endangered species list.  It is being declared extinct since an eastern cougar has not been seen since 1938. The decision is based on an extensive review by the US Fish and Wildlife Services which included "the best available scientific and historic information [which we now know from my lion research isn't the best scientific and historic information, just the best available of the resources accessible to us lowly wildlife researchers], queried 21 states and eastern Canadian provinces, and reviewed hundreds of reports from the public."  It's not that there haven't been any cougars seen, it's just that they claim that any cougars seen in the east in the past 77 years are a result of dispersing animals from western populations or animals that have been released or escaped from captivity. These claims come from more than 100 reports dating back to 1900. 

There isn't much genetic research on the puma (FYI: puma, cougar, mountain lion, catamount, panther... all the same thing, just depends on where you are and who you talk to).  The scientific community seems to be quite torn about taxonomic assessment and there has been much debate around subspecies distinction, particularly in the case of using cougars in Texas to repopulate the Florida panther population.  Some say they are distinct enough that they shouldn't be hybridized while others say they are the same so one can successfully repopulate the other.  According to the Federal Register,  "the best available information continues to support the assignment of the eastern taxon to Puma concolor couguar as distinct from other North American subspecies" based primarily on biology and life history. 

The proposal to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list does not affect the status of the endangered Florida panther subspecies, a cluster of conservation genetics issues to discuss in more detail at another time.  But, although the extinct animals will no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act, which is intended to save animals and plants that still have a recorded population, it will also no longer be able to be used to protect similar animals, such as the Florida panther.  Not sure if that matters since the Florida panther is already protected (and possibly diluted with Texas cougar) but its interesting nonetheless. 

---