Canis lupus hominis

Posted in wildlife | Tagged Eastern cougar | 10 Comments

10 Responses

1. on April 8, 2010 at 9:02 am Lane Batot

   I have heard these stories and read local news accounts and wildlife articles on this subject of “Eastern Panthers” all my life(50+ yrs. now). There have definetely been animals killed in the past in the East in modern times–they usually could be proven to be escaped pets, and is undoubtedly the source for most of the sightings and incidents. A cub was hit by a car in the 90’s in Kentucky(purty close to you, Retrieverman!)–the driver who reported it and turned in the body said it was with an adult and one or more other cubs crossing the road at night when he accidentally hit it. DNA tests confirmed the cub was at least partly of South American origin–common in the pet trade. Whether these animals were all descended from escaped/released pets, or partially from native stock, is unknown. A really neat website, “The Cougar Network” keeps up with all the latest sightings and studies–you should check it out(if you haven’t already!). Some of the radio-collared cougars out West have been tracked dispersing(young cougars looking for unoccupied territories) HUNDREDS of miles from their birthplace. Cougars have been verified in Northeastern Canada, and some reliable evidence in the Northeastern U. S.; plus “Florida Panthers” have been tracked(and alas, hit by cars) further and further North of their usual range in South Florida–one was shot in Georgia not long ago and confirmed as a “Florida Panther”, not an escaped captive. So, if we don’t already have them in the Appalachians, we will, I’m confident. And when we DO have an established , breeding population, we will know it for sure(despite these animals amazing elusiveness) because, sadly, we already have a 24/7 “cougar detector” with our myriad of modern highways and roads–occaisional cougar road kills will be inevitable, just as they occur regularly in Florida and out West where there are established populations.

   
   
2. on April 8, 2010 at 9:40 am bill

   There is a lot of buzz (and debate) here in Florida among a pretty diverse group that there are A LOT more Florida Panthers that some agencies would like us to beleive.

   THey are obviously very rare, and it is hearbreaking every time one is hit by a vehicle, but it would be great if their plight is slightly less critical than we thought.

   
   
   • on April 8, 2010 at 9:41 am retrieverman

     They introduced Texas cougars to augment their genetic diversity.

     I do know that.

     
     
3. on April 8, 2010 at 9:49 am bill

   yep, huge success, apparently.

   I think FL panthers are not technically a separate species at the DNA level so there wasnt a real risk of losng something truly uniqu.

   
   
   • on April 8, 2010 at 9:50 am retrieverman

     They are just a subspecies of Puma concolor.

     You know what the two closest relatives of the cougar are?

     
     
     • on April 8, 2010 at 10:35 am bill

       the Jaguar and the Lynx! (i think)

       
       
       • on April 8, 2010 at 10:50 am retrieverman

         Nope.

         Jaguarundi is the closest relative (we have them in the US): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguarundi

         And more distantly, the cheetah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

         
         
       • on April 8, 2010 at 10:51 am retrieverman

         Jaguars are actually more closely related to leopards and lions.

         They are Panthera cats, meaning the big cats.

         
         
4. on April 8, 2010 at 10:51 am bill

   FL panther and 2 cubs (kittens?) photographed in a former subdivision outside Naples last month. Either 2 males or 1 male and 1 female:

   http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/apr/06/rare-photo-shows-mother-florida-panther-and-two-cu/

   
   
5. on April 10, 2010 at 2:27 pm blkgldn-n-labmix

   I love this website.

   http://www.easterncougarnet.org/bigpicture.html

   
   

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