TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Federal officials have declared the Eastern puma extinct, 80 years after the last confirmed sighting of a graceful wildcat that once roamed widely from the Upper Midwest to the Atlantic seaboard. The federal agency said it considered feedback from scientists and the general public before making the decision to declare the Eastern puma extinct. Either way, Robinson said, declaring the Eastern puma extinct removes a barrier to transporting wildcats from the West in hopes of rebuilding populations in Eastern and Midwestern states. Evidence of wild cougars dispersing farther east is extremely rare“It provides a green light for discussion and hopefully action,” Robinson said. “Wild cougar populations in the West have been expanding their range eastward in the last two decades,” Racey said.

Source: National Post January 24, 2018 21:07 UTC