Pumas, cougar, panther, or mountain lion, all refer to the same species, Puma concolor (Hansen, 1992). This cat has the most names out of any other mammal (SDZG Mountain Lion, 2020). The name changes depending on the location. In the western United States it is more commonly referred to as the mountain lion, while in the Midwest it is referred to as the cougar and the eastern United States refers to them as panthers. The puma is found from southern Alaska and Canada all the way to Argentina in South America (Panthera Puma, 2020). The puma is no longer found in the eastern United States, except for one small population in Florida (Panthera Puma, 2020).
Although they have the largest geographic range of any native terrestrial mammal, in the Western Hemisphere, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists them as least concerned with a decreasing population (IUCN , 2020; Panthera Puma, 2020). Their population size is unknown (IUCN Puma, 2020; Panthera Puma, 2020). On November 26, 2019 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora listed the puma populations of Costa Rica and Panama under Appendix I, while all other puma populations were listed under Appendix II (CITES Checklist Puma, 2020). The biggest threat to pumas are habitat loss, poaching, and prey loss.
It is estimated that 4,000 pumas are killed in the United States and Canada each year (Panthera Puma, 2020). In California alone, around 100 pumas die each year from vehicle strikes (Center for Biological Diversity & Mountain Lion Foundation, 2019; Pollard 2016). There is a plan to build a wildlife crossing bridge at the Liberty Canyon crossing to try and reduce the number of vehicle strikes and provide connectivity for wildlife in the area (NWF Save LA Cougars, 2020).
Currently in California the puma is temporarily protected under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and will receive a final verdict of being added to the states endangered species list or not in early 2021 (MLF California’s Lions Gain Protection, 2020). The petition to list the mountain lion under CESA is available for the public to read. You can participate in the public meeting prior to the state’s Fish and Game Commission giving their verdict on whether or not pumas should be added to the states endangered species list. You have the option of writing a letter, email, testifying in person or on the phone.
Literature Cited
Center for Biological Diversity, & Mountain Lion Foundation. (2019, June 26). A petition to list the southern California/ central coast evolutionary significant unit (ESU) of mountain lions as threatened under the California endangered species act (CESA). https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3-wagtail.biolgicaldiversity.org/documents/CESA_petition_-_Southern_California_Central_Coast_Mountain_Lions.pdf
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. (2020). Checklist of CITES species: Puma. https://checklist.cites.org/#/en/search/output_layout=alphabetical&level_of_listing=0&show_synonyms=1&show_author=1&show_english=1&show_spanish=1&show_french=1&scientific_name=puma&page=1&per_page=20
Cougar Conservancy. 2020, September 21). Liberty canyon wildlife crossing [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPS5NPF5Flw
Cougar Conservancy. (2020, September 28). Protect mountain lions under the CA endangered species act [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTdwPTKi44U
Hansen, K. (1992). Cougar: The American lion. Northland.
International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (2020). Puma: Puma concolor. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18868/97216466
Mountain Lion Foundation. (2020). California’s lions gain protection.
National Wildlife Federation. (2020). Save LA cougars. https://savelacougars.org/?fbclid= IwAR1Rfc22r Lz3O GaoXNM x6GWmWLsuLvuraLSzlN18AKX89FobmrLICsp2ajU
Panthera. (2020). Puma. https://www.panthera.org/cat/puma
Panthera. (2020). Puma: Puma concolor.
file:///C:/Users/reedt/Downloads/Puma%20Fact%20Sheet%20(2).pdf
Pollard, L. (2016, December 27). 100+ Calif. Mountain Lions a Year Killed by Motor Vehicles. Public News Service.
San Diego Zoo Global. (2020). Animals and plants: Mountain lion (puma, cougar): Puma
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