Scientists agree that habitat loss and overhunting are the major threats to mountain lion populations. While cougars are one of the most adaptable of the large carnivores, they are also vulnerable to extinction in some areas. By the early 1900s, human persecution, expanding human populations, and the loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat eliminated the large cat from the entire eastern half of North America, leaving only an endangered population in Florida. These threats also reduced the cougar’s range across North America to one-third of its original size. But as American culture matured and began to recognize the important role of carnivores in nature, wide-scale bounty hunting and mountain lion eradication programs were stopped. Mountain lions rebounded slowly and have now reclaimed one third of their former range.
In the United States cougars are legally hunted in fourteen western states. Most researchers agree that sport hunting and loss of habitat are the most serious threats to these large carnivores' populations. The Humane Society of the United States recently produced a comprehensive report, "State Of Mountain Lion", which addresses these risks and debunks the myths that drive their persecution. Other threats include poaching, disease, declines in prey populations, trapping, cougar-vehicle collisions, and environmental poisons. |
Latin American Pumas In Central and South America mountain lions are commonly known as pumas. Unfortunately, there is limited information about pumas in South and Central America. Most of what we know about Puma concolor stems from research done in the United States. We know that pumas still exist throughout Central and South America but are becoming increasingly at risk due to livestock depredation hunting and habitat loss. Estimates suggest that over 40% of puma habitat in Latin America is either lost or threatened due to urban expansion. Pumas are protected in many countries in Latin America including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. Unfortunately, little to no resources exist to enforce existing laws. International Union of Concerned Scientists reports that in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, the puma is classified as Near Threatened. In Brazil, subspecies outside the Amazon basin are classified as Vulnerable. In Chile its status is unknown and the puma is listed as Data Deficient. In Uruguay, the puma is thought to be highly endangered. Meanwhile, pumas in Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Peru are considered Near Threatened, and those living outside Amazonia are Vulnerable. Data on cougars in Chile are insufficient to evaluate their status.
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In the U.S., most states legally protect female cougars seen with spotted kittens. Unfortunately, mothers don't usually hunt or travel with spotted kittens at their side, so both mothers and kittens are at risk where hunting of female cougars is allowed.
Such policies also fail to protect mothers with kittens over 3 months old—the age at which spots begin to fade. Female mountain lions spend most of their adult lives pregnant or raising kittens. If hunters misidentify the sex of a cougar or inadvertently kill a mother traveling without her kittens, the orphaned kittens will likely starve to death or die of exposure. In Panthera’s Teton Cougar Project study area, the leading cause of death for kittens <6 months old is wolves, whereas the leading cause of death for kittens 6-18 months is starvation. Meanwhile, male cougars travel great distances to find a home of their own—sometimes hundreds of kilometers. This period of dispersal is especially dangerous for young cougars, whose wanderings lead them across highways and into other life-threatening situations with humans and other predators. |
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