Eastern Cougar Is Extinct

Federal agency makes it official
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2011 4:55 PM CST
Eastern Cougar Is Extinct
This 2006 photo provided by the State Museum of Pennsylvania shows the taxidermy of the Eastern Cougar.   (AP Photo/State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The eastern cougar is coming off the endangered species list, but for the worst possible reason: It's extinct. The big cat, also called the eastern puma, has likely been gone since the 1930s, but the official confirmation came today from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It used to roam from Maine to South Carolina, notes Our Amazing Planet.

"We recognize that many people have seen cougars in the wild within the historical range of the eastern cougar," says a USFWS official. "However, we believe those cougars are not the eastern cougar subspecies. We found no information to support the existence of the eastern cougar." (More cougar stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X