Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service concluded that the Eastern Cougar is extinct:

Although the eastern cougar has been on the endangered species list since 1973, its existence has long been questioned. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) conducted a formal review of the available information and, in a report issued today, concludes the eastern cougar is extinct and recommends the subspecies be removed from the endangered species list…

Many are unconvinced, including myself, as is sightings continue to be reported:

• …a very large cat that was tan in color with a long tail (that I believe was a mountain lion) crossed the road in front of my car!
• We have seen a cougar/mountain lion in our small town on numerous occasions…
• I live in dickenson co. We have had a lot of sightings around here by numerous people…
• I saw a cougar in the mountains west of Woodstock (Zepp area) in the fall of 2010…

My guess is that sightings and evidence will continue to accumulate. Eventually the Fish and Wildlife Service may have to admit their error. It is not unusual for so-called extinct animals to be found again:

A study has found that a third of all mammal species declared extinct in the past few centuries have turned up alive and well.

See Also:

The Eastern Cougar Book Review

Update on Eastern Cougars in Virginia

Recommended Mountain Lion Books

Last year, I read a couple of cougar (aka mountain lion) books that I highly recommend by Chris Bolgiano.

First, Mountain Lion covers a history of mountain lions in the U.S. detailing their behaviors. The subtitle is An unnatural history of pumas and people. Of special interest to Virginians and other Easterners, is the last chapter The Spiritual Challenge of the Eastern Panther.

Second, Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations, New Evidence compiles evidence of the mountain lion’s existence in the Eastern U.S. While the Florida Panther is the only acknowledged population, after reading the book there is no question of mountain lions elsewhere in the East. The only outstanding question is whether there are breeding populations in the East. Naysayers claim that the substantiated evidence might only be rare migrants from the West or escaped pet lions.

Having seen a mountain lion, I am in the believer camp. I believe the instance of a mountain lion with cubs being hit by a vehicle in Georgia is evidence enough of a small population of eastern cougars (Puma concolor cougar). While the cubs escaped, the sighting (detailed in the book) is highly credible and the physical evidence of the adult female is indisputable.

I highly recommend these books, especially the Eastern Cougar book, for anyone interested in learning more.

Mike Woody of the Tippecanoe Gazette reports:

For decades its existence has been debated, thorough searches have found no conclusive evidence, but a pair of Tipp City women reportedly have the definite answer as they claim to have seen…Bigfoot. Terri Bessler and Crystal Krieger were driving through West Virginia when in the clear of day they spotted the behemoth mythical figure. It was walking up a truck ramp, off of the highway, up into the wooded mountains…

This rock den has an entrance suitable for a small mammal.

Rock Den in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

As reported by Leesburg Patch:

Two zebras managed to escape from the Leesburg Animal Park on Monday, Nov. 28 around 12 p.m. after a gate was left open in the park. Several calls were made to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office that both animals had been seen in the area of Route 15 near Valley Brooke Lane…

…The animals were tranquilized and returned safely to the park around 3 p.m. Both zebras are reported to be healthy and doing well.

The Washington Post reports today:

The armadillo arrived in Texas in the 1880s, in Florida in the 1920s and has since settled into “totally unexpected” areas including southern Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri.

Biologists speculate that if the trend continues, the armadillo may soon be turning up in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, and even as far north as New Jersey.

The North Carolina Museum of Life + Science reports that armadillos have already reached southern North Carolina:

Once common to the very southern states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida these little tanks have been constantly moving their range further north and east. They have been sighted in our state most usually on the southernmost stretch between Wilmington and Charlotte. If their trend continues, they will have spread across the majority of the state in the next two to three years. That’s all is took them to occupy almost all of South Carolina from their appearance in 1995.

The ability of the armadillo to spread so successfully is due mainly to it’s high reproductive rate, lack of natural predators, and little desire of the American people to hunt and eat them. They probably won’t get much farther than Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania due to their inability to handle the harsh winter climates…