The Case for Eastern Mountain Lions

Explore the mystery of the eastern mountain lion with me, once ranging across North America, now thought extinct in the east. This video investigates the cat’s history, rise and fall, reported sightings, and the scientific debates over its survival and at the same time asking could cougars once again roam eastern North America. Video/image attributions: Competition between a Cougar and a Western Spotted Skunk by Canadian Field-Naturalist Videos Big Beautiful Mountain Lion Caught on Trail Camera (Northern Idaho) by Idaho TrailCam Mountain Lion Caught TAILING Deer on Trail Camera (Close Behind) by Idaho TrailCam Curious mountain lion by Casey Klebba Adolescent mountain lion by Casey Klebba Courting lions by Casey Klebba Mountain lion mini-scrape by Casey Klebba Mountain lion exploring by Casey Klebba Mountain lion scraping the ground and marking its territory by Casey Klebba Cougar range map 2010.png by Kokosdieb under CC BY-SA 3.0 Sun Peaks Nordic scenes - Mountain Lion (cougar) tracks - (15647002156).jpg by Murray Foubister under CC BY-SA 2.0 Florida panther range with states.png by The Nature Box under CC0 1.0 Sources: Brocke, R. H. (1981). Reintroduction of the Cougar Felis Concolor in Adirondack Park: A Problem Analysis and Recommendations. Laundré, J. W. (2013). The feasibility of the north-eastern USA supporting the return of the cougar Puma concolor. Oryx, 47(1), 96-104. Gilbert, S. L., Sivy, K. J., Pozzanghera, C. B., DuBour, A., Overduijn, K., Smith, M. M., ... & Prugh, L. R. (2017). Socioeconomic benefits of large carnivore recolonization through reduced wildlife‐vehicle collisions. Conservation Letters, 10(4), 431-439. Evanitsky, M. N., George, R. J., Johnson, S., Dowell, S., & Perry, G. H. (2017). Mitochondrial genomes of the regionally extinct Nittany Lion (Puma concolor from Pennsylvania). bioRxiv, 214510. Glass, T. W., Beausoleil, R. A., Elbroch, L. M., Kertson, B. N., Maletzke, B. T., Martins, Q., ... & Robinson, H. (2024). Limited cougar recolonization of eastern North America predicted by an individual-based model. Biological Conservation, 298, 110756. Mountain Lion Foundation EASTERN COUGAR: HABITAT SUITABILITY ANALYSISFOR THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS Yovovich, V., Robinson, N., Robinson, H., Manfredo, M. J., Perry, S., Bruskotter, J. T., ... & Elbroch, L. M. (2023). Determining puma habitat suitability in the Eastern USA. Biodiversity and Conservation, 32(3), 921-941. COSEWIC STATUS REPORT on Cougar (Puma concolor couguar) Eastern Population] EASTERN COUGAR RECOVERY PLAN 3D Models: Negotiator '80 - Low poly model on Sketchfab by Daniel Zhabotinsky Glasses on Sketchfab by ENOMIC Thermos - Hydration Bottle 24OZ on Sketchfab by Berk Gedik Used binoculars on Sketchfab by Lassi Kaukonen