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Article: Gone with the wind; in the East, sightings of cougars cast doubt on the wildcat's demise. (eastern US)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Animals
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Panther, cougar, puma, catamount, painter, mountain lion -- all names for the same wildcat, the ultimate symbol of the wilderness. Little wonder that people don't usually associate the large cat with the eastern United States. With the exception of the Florida panther, a virtually extinct subspecies, these large cats and the forests where they lived are mostly a memory.
Felis concolor, as the species is scientifically named, includes more than two dozen subspecies. Until perhaps the turn of the century, the eastern cougar inhabitated land from the Midwest to Maine and down through parts of Tennessee and South Carolina, blending into the Florida panther's ...