AL Cougar Hunting Guide

Also known as: Mountain lion, puma, panther, catamount

The cougar, also called puma, mountain lion, catamount, and panther, is a large feline native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas.

Habitat & Range

The cougar has the most extensive range of any wild land animal in the Americas, spanning 110 degrees oflatitudefrom the Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes in Chile.[1]The species was extirpated from eastern North America, aside from Florida, but they may be recolonizing their former range and isolated populations have been documented east of their contemporary ranges in both the Midwestern US and Canada.[47] The cougar lives in all forest types, lowland and mountainous deserts, and in open areas with little vegetation up to an elevation of 5,800 m (19,000 ft).[1]In theSanta Ana Mountains, it prefers steep canyons, escarpments, rim rocks and dense brush.[48]In Mexico, it was recorded in theSierra de San Carlos.[49]In theYucatán Peninsula, it inhabitssecondaryand semi-deciduousforests inEl Eden Ecological Reserve.[50]InEl Salvador, it was recorded in the lower montane forest inMontecristo National Parkand in a river basin in theMorazán Departmentabove 700 m (2,300 ft) in 2019.[51]InColombia, it was recorded in apalm oilplantationclose to ariparian forestin theLlanos Basin, and close to water bodies in theMagdalena River Valley.[52][53]In the human-modified landscape of central Argentina, it inhabitsbushlandwith abundant vegetation cover and prey species.[54]

Life History

P. c. concolor; P. c. couguar Also seetext Thecougar(Puma concolor) (/ˈkuːɡər/,KOO-gər), also calledpuma,mountain lion,catamount, andpanther, is a largefelinenative to the Americas. It inhabitsNorth,CentralandSouth America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrialmammalin theWestern Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spansYukon,British ColumbiaandAlbertain Canada, theRocky Mountainsand areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to theAmazon rainforestand the southernAndes MountainsinPatagonia. It is an adaptablegeneralist species, occurring in most Americanhabitattypes. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas. The cougar is largely solitary. Its activity pattern varies fromdiurnalityandcathemeralitytocrepuscularityandnocturnalitybetween protected and non-protected areas, and is apparently correlated with the presence of other predators, prey species, livestock and humans. It is anambush predatorthat pursues a wide variety of prey.Ungulates, particularlydeer, are its primary prey, but it also huntsrodents. It isterritorialand lives at low population densities. Individualhome rangesdepend on terrain, vegetation and abundance of prey. While large, it is not always the dominantapex predatorin its range, yielding prey to other predators. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people.Fatal attacks on humansare rare but increased in North America as more people entered cougar habitat and built farms. The cougar is listed asLeast Concernon theIUCN Red List. Intensive hunting followingEuropean colonization of the Americasand ongoing human development into cougar habitat has caused populations to decline in most parts of its historical range. In particular, theeastern cougarpopulation is considered to be mostlylocally extinctin eastern North America since the early 20th century, with the exception of the isolatedFlorida panthersubpopulation. The cougar is akeystone speciesin Western Hemisphere ecosystems as it links numerous species at manytrophic levelsinteracting with 485 other species as food source and prey, carcass remains left behind and competitive effects on otherpredatorsin shared habitat.[55]

Status, Trends & Threats

The cougar has been listed asLeast Concernon theIUCN Red Listsince 2008.[1]It is threatened byhabitat loss,habitat fragmentation, and depletion of its prey base due topoaching. Hunting is legal in the western United States. In Florida, heavy traffic causes frequent accidents involving cougars. Highways are a major barrier to the dispersal of cougars.[1]The cougar populations in California are becoming fragmented with the increase in human population and infrastructure growth in the state.[108] Human–wildlife conflictin proximity of 5 km2(1.9 sq mi) of cougar habitat is pronounced in areas with a median human density of 32.48 inhabitants/km2(84.1 inhabitants/sq mi) and a median livestock population density of 5.3 heads/km2(14 heads/sq mi). Conflict is generally lower in areas more than 16.1 km (10.0 mi) away from roads and 27.8 km (17.3 mi) away from settlements.[109] The cougar is listed onCITES Appendix II, but the Central American population is on Appendix I.[1]Hunting it is prohibited inCosta Rica,Honduras,Nicaragua,Guatemala,Panama,Venezuela, Colombia,French Guiana,Suriname,Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,Paraguay,Uruguayand most of Argentina. Hunting is regulated in Canada, Mexico,Peru, and the United States.[36]Establishingwildlife corridorsand protecting sufficient range areas are critical for the sustainability of cougar populations. Research simulations showed that it faces a low extinction risk in areas larger than 2,200 km2(850 sq mi). Between one and four new individuals entering a population per decade markedly increases persistence, thus highlighting the importance of habitat corridors.[110] TheFlorida pantherpopulation is afforded protection under theEndangered Species Act.[111][112]In California, the cougar is protected under theCalifornia Wildlife Protection Act of 1990.[113] The Texas Mountain Lion Conservation Project was launched in 2009 and aimed at raising local people's awareness of the status and ecological role of the cougar and mitigating conflict between landowners and cougars.[114]

Hunting Season

No open season. Protected species in Alabama.

References

• Alabama — Cougar