EASTERN COUGAR Felis concolor cougar (Kerr) 



Order: CARNIVORA Family: FELIDAE 



Distinguishing characteristics : A large, unspotted, long-tailed cat, with 

 coloration described as: "Body and legs a uniform fulvous or tawny hue. . .Ears 

 light colored within, blackish behind. . .Belly pale reddish or reddish-white. . . 

 Face sometimes with a uniform lighter tint than the general hue of the body. " 

 (De Kay, 1842). Goldman (Young and Goldman, 1946) says that it is similar to the 

 Florida cougar (F. c . coryi ) but differs in cranial details . He also says that it is 

 similar to F\_ c_^ hippolestes of Wyoming , but is smaller , with skull differing in detail . 



Present distribution : One specimen taken in New Brunswick in 1932; one taken in 

 Maine in 1938; one in Pennsylvania in 1967 (Wright, 1971). There is some question 

 as to whether the Pennsylvania specimen was an escapee from captivity . In addition 

 to the above, there have been hundreds of sightings reported from eastern Canada 

 to the Carolinas in recent years . Many of these sightings have been by reliable 

 observers (National Park rangers, zoologists, etc.) and have to be given credence. 

 On the basis of his analysis of these reports of sightings, Wright (1971) says: 

 " . , .the range of the supposedly extinct eastern panther runs across the Laurentians 

 from central Ontario to the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island, and between the 

 Mississippi and the Atlantic south to where it merges with the range of F\_ c_^ coryi . " 



Former distribution : Eastern United States and Canada , as far north as Maine , 

 southern Ontario and Quebec; inter grading to the southward with coryi (Young and 

 Goldman, 1946). 



Status : Formerly regarded as extinct. Over the vast range where sightings now 

 indicate that the eastern panther may occur, Wright (1971) says: " . . .its numbers must 

 be the smallest fraction above the limit of survival and its gene pool must be the 

 smallest possible . " 



Estimated numbers : No reliable estimates available . On the basis of sightings and 

 interviews, Cahalane (1964) indicated there may be about 25 eastern panthers in 

 New Brunswick. 



Breeding rate in wild : According to Young and Goldman (1946), the gestation period 

 for the species is 96 days; number of young range from one to six, born at any time 

 of the year . Females breed once every two to three years . Nothing is known about 

 breeding in F\_ c_^ cougar , but presumably it does not differ from the species as a whole . 



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