CREDIT: COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE 



EASTERN COUGAR 



Felts concolor cougar Kerr 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Mammalia 



ORDER Carnivore 



FAMILY Felidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES cougar, mountain lion, 



panther, puma, pjiinter 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS to be detennined 



Updates 31 August 1978. 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Endangered; Eastern United States 

 (38 FR 14678; 4 June 1978). 



States: Endangered: Georgia, Maryland, Mas- 



sachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Ten- 

 nessee, Vermont, Virginia. 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



Regarded as extirpated in the United States in 

 1899 (USFWS 1973) due to large habitat losses 

 and disruption, excessive hunting and persecution, 

 and decline in deer population, its major food 

 (Laycock 1969; lUCN 1972; USFWS 1973; 

 Lowman 1975). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



Not assigned. 



DESCRIPTION 



A large (1.5-3.1 m), unspotted, long-tailed 

 cat. Coloration is generally a uniform fulvous or 

 tawny. Males are larger than females. Underparts, 

 inner ears, lower cheeks, chin and lips are white. 

 Tip of tail and base of whiskers are dark. Young 

 are light-brown and irregularly spotted until 

 about 6 months old (Dekay 1842; Young and 

 Goldman 1946). 



