Eastern Cougar

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iEastern Cougar

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Puma
Species:	P. concolor
Subspecies:	P. c. cougar

Trinomial name

Puma concolor cougar
(Kerr, 1792)

The Eastern Cougar (also known as the "Eastern Panther") is a label used for at least one type of puma. Officially, the Eastern Cougar is the subspecies Puma concolor couguar, but the label is often used for other pumas from east of the Mississippi River, such as the Florida Panther. Eastern Cougars were once commonly found in eastern portions of the United States and Canada. It is believed they were completley extirpated in the early 1900's. Today, the Florida Panther is endangered and all other Eastern Cougars are believed extinct by most scientists. Some mainstream scientists believe that small relict populations may exist (around 50 indivuals), especially in the Appalachian Mountains and eastern Canada, but this idea is far more often found in the protoscientific field of cryptozoology, and also forms a common theme in American folklore. Other theories ascribe modern sightings to a feral breeding population of former pets, possibly hybridizing with native Eastern Cougar remnants, or claim that cougars from the western United States have been rapidly expanding their range eastwards. In this sense, the term "Eastern Cougar" would not apply to a genuine subspecies of puma, but simply to any pumas alleged to live in the wild in the eastern portions of North America, regardless of their origins.