Eastern Puma – The Mystery Continues

by Tom Seymour

On March 3, 2011, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) declared the eastern cougar extinct. This official announcement was met with skepticism among the community of believers, those who had seen an eastern puma, or mountain lion, themselves, or those with family or close friends who had encountered the big cats.

Cougar sightings, since the last official record of a wild, native puma in Maine in 1938, have continued unabated. In fact, mountain lion sightings in the Pine Tree State are so numerous that they are hardly newsworthy events. Also, a large number of witnesses do not publicize their encounters, for a number of reasons.

First, admitting to seeing a mountain lion can strain an individual’s credibility in the community. But more important, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (DIF&W) has long considered eastern pumas as extirpated. Reporting cougar sightings rarely elicits a response other than a friendly, “thank you for calling.”

And yet, the sightings continue. In 2010, a school bus driver saw an adult cougar cross the road ahead of him in Owls Head, Maine. This witness was told by DIF&W that his sighting, while no doubt genuine, was more than likely an escaped pet. This was, of course, prior to the big cats being listed as extinct in the wild.

According to an article by Elizabeth Weise in the March 2, 2011 issue of USA Today, the USFWS recognizes that many people see cougars in the wild within their historical range. But, according to Martin Miller, northeast region chief of endangered species, these animals are not the eastern cougar subspecies.

Select Group

Some people, like the Owls Head bus driver, become highly energized over their cougar sightings. Typically, these folks share their stories with everyone willing to lend an ear and also, search for others with similar stories to discuss. This search often takes the new believer to the Eastern Puma Research Network (EPRN).

The EPRN describes itself as a “non-profit, grassroots wildlife study group dedicated to the preservation & restoration of the native eastern mountain lion sub-species to its former range.” The group even has a 24-hour hotline in order to take and record sighting reports.

So with the growing number of sightings, coupled with data-collecting agencies such as EPRN, the large body of believers in the existence of the native, eastern puma grows by leaps and bounds.

Eyewitnesses often dispute the official stance taken by DIF&W and USFWS. Shortly after the above-mentioned sighting of an adult cougar in Owls Head, a Belfast resident, driving on Route 90 in Rockport, Maine, watched as an immature cougar slowly walked across the road in front of his car. “It was a beautiful animal,” the witness said. “Just gorgeous.”

Fearing that his report would be discredited as a matter of course, the witness refrained from calling any official agency. He does, however, firmly believe in the existence of wild, eastern pumas. Others have since reported seeing adult cougars in the same vicinity, lending veracity to the possible existence of a breeding population.

The idea that all of these Maine cougar sightings are either of escaped pets, taken in South America and released or escaped into the wild, or western cougars that have made their way (the official stance of USFWS) to Maine, does not set well with eyewitnesses.

One common argument against the government’s official take raises several difficult questions. If many of these sightings are of escaped pets, why do the owners not inform the news media? After all, permits to keep exotic animals are costly, as are the animals themselves. Would not the owner of an escaped mountain lion go to lengths to orchestrate their pet’s return?

Then we have the annual, confirmed sightings. The majority of these, according to the April 2011, EPRN newsletter, are “by trained observers with wildlife backgrounds who knew the species they saw.”

The report goes on to say that in 2010, every state east of the Mississippi River had a credible report of a mountain lion in the wild. Maine, for example, tallied 21 reports from eight different counties. Of considerable interest, according to the newsletter, “Kennebunk Hospital was placed on lockdown on June 11, when a cougar was seen crossing the parking lot.”

Connecticut Cougar

And then on Saturday, July 11, a car struck and killed an adult cougar on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford, Connecticut. Local newspaper accounts quote state wildlife agencies as saying that the animal was not a wild cougar, but a pet that had either escaped from captivity or was purposely released.

Earlier, on June 5, a mountain lion was sighted in Greenwich Connecticut. However, another cougar was reported in Greenwich, this from Sunday, June 12, a day after the puma was killed in Milford.

The Milford lion is undergoing tests, which will determine if it was raised in captivity. Results are not yet made public.

New Sightings

While it seems that government agencies, in declaring the eastern puma, Puma concolor couguar, extinct, may have a difficult time proving a negative, the reverse also holds true. Despite scats, hair samples, photos and movie footage, no one has yet proved that wild mountain lions, not escaped pets or wandering, western types, exist.

But perhaps that will someday change. In the meanwhile, it makes sense to keep EPRN apprised of sightings. Anyone seeing a large cat with a small head as compared to its body, rounded ears, long, curling tail, green/gold eyes and muscular paws, are urged to call the EPRN hotline at (304) 749-7778. Also, visit the group’s website at http://eprn.homestead.com.

Sooner or later, anyone venturing outside in the State of Maine may witness a living, breathing mountain lion. The mystery continues without an end in sight.