NewsBreakingOnline

Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct, With an Asterisk Seven decades after the last reported sighting of the eastern cougar, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service declared it extinct Wednesday and recommended that it be removed from the nation’s endangered species list. There’s one wrinkle, though: it may not be extinct, exactly. Scientists are moving toward the conclusion that the eastern cougar was erroneously classified as a separate subspecies in the first place. As a result of a genetic study conducted in 2000, most biologists now believe there is no real difference between the western and eastern branches of the cougar family. ( Read Eastern Cougar more… ) Eastern Cougar Declared Officially Extinct; Florida Panther Still Has a Chance If Reintroduced to Okefenokee SILVER CITY, N.M.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today declared the eastern cougar, a subspecies of the puma or mountain lion, extinct following a status review that could not authenticate any records of the animal since the last confirmed individual was killed in 1938 in Maine. Only one other subspecies of puma from the eastern United States — the Florida panther — survives. Florida panthers once ranged throughout the Southeast, but are now besieged by sprawl in a single, remnant population in South Florida. “Official confirmation of the eastern cougar’s extinction is a belated warning that our ecosystems are out of whack, as many a backyard gardener finds out when confronted with damage by voracious deer,” said Michael Robinson, with the Center for Biological Diversity. “But we still have a chance to recover the Florida panther by saving habitat in its current range and reintroducing the animal to its historic range. If we can do that, we’ll help restore nature’s balance at the same time.” ( Read Eastern Cougar more… ) Feds declare Eastern cougar officially extinct, despite continued reports of sightings AUGUSTA, Maine — Sorry, cougar believers. The “ghost cat” of the eastern woods is no more. Or at least that’s the official word from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has determined after a three-year study that the species of cougar that once prowled from Michigan to Maine to South Carolina is extinct. As a result, the agency plans to move forward with plans to remove the eastern cougar from the federal endangered species list, officials announced Wednesday. ( Read Eastern Cougar more… ) Eastern Cougar Extinct: Mountain Lion Declared Gone From East U.S. ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The “ghost cat” is just that. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday declared the eastern cougar to be extinct, confirming a widely held belief among wildlife biologists that native populations of the big cat were wiped out by man a century ago. After a lengthy review, federal officials concluded there are no breeding populations of cougars – also known as pumas, panthers, mountain lions and catamounts – in the eastern United States. Researchers believe the eastern cougar subspecies has probably been extinct since the 1930s. ( Read Eastern Cougar more… ) EASTERN COUGAR DECLARED EXTINCT The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Concludes That The Last Eastern Cougar Was Killed Sometime During The Twentieth Century The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service today announced its conclusion that the Eastern cougar, or mountain lion, no longer exists. The negative conclusion of a five-year USFWS survey of the issue is certain to be controversial: During recent decades, many people have reported sightings of cougars east of the Mississippi, and some environmental activists have claimed that wildlife agencies have ignored or even concealed evidence of the Eastern mountain lion’s continued existence. ( Read Eastern Cougar more… ) Courtesy : The New York Times , Biological Diversity , Bangor Daily News , The Huffington Post & All About Wild Life