Alabama Wildlife Magazine Archives

Winter 1999

Cougar--Alabama's Native Lion

By M. Keith Causey, Ireland Professor of Wildlife Science, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University and 

Mark Bailey, AWF Director and
Consulting Biologist, Conservation Services Southeast

The mysterious cat that once roamed over the most extensive range of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere once was at home in Alabama. Historically this lion ranged from the Canadian Yukon to the southern tip of South America and, as might be expected, Felis concolor has been given more common names than any other mammal in the world. Today, cougar, mountain lion and puma are the names most commonly used in the western U.S., while panther is used more frequently east of the Mississippi and especially in the South. The list of other names it has been given is extensive.

There are at least 15 subspecies of cougars described from North America alone but most authorities agree that the subspecies native to Alabama is the so-called Florida panther. However, the ranges of the Florida panther and the eastern cougar likely overlapped in the north Georgia, north Alabama and southern Tennessee region.

Cougars vary in size with adult males ranging from about 140 to 180 pounds and adult females from 90 to 120 pounds. Adult cougar fur generally is uniformly tawny (brown/tan) but ranges from a slate gray to reddish brown. Kittens have a blackish brown spotted coat and a dark-ringed tail. The fur color is replaced by the adult fur color at about 1 year of age. It is interesting to speculate about how the legendary "black" panther of the South came into our collective folklore but the fact remains that never in recorded history has a truly black cougar been photographed, captured, killed or otherwise factually documented. While this is true, it may be unwise to challenge some of the many folks who claim to have seen a black cougar and who steadfastly believe in the existence of such "critters."

In North America, cougars depend almost entirely on deer for food although other larger and smaller mammals are eaten depending upon local availability. Since white-tailed deer have rebounded to unprecedented numbers in the latter part of the 20th century, food should no longer be a limiting factor for cougars in their historical habitats of the eastern and Southern U.S. At present, however, the only known breeding cougar population in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River is the fewer than 100 animals that inhabit southwestern Florida.

Settlers long ago memorialized the big cats in names they gave to natural features, many of which are still in use. According to the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System, there are at least 30 "panther" place names scattered across the state. These include seven Panther Branches, sixteen Panther Creeks, a Panther Hill and a Panther Knob.

Cougar Track Tips

Cougar Tracks

• Tracks are four inches in total diameter including the toes.
• Tracks show four toes on their front and back paws, although cougars have five toes on their front paws.
• Tracks are more asymmetrical.
• Tracks should not include claw marks because cougars have retractable claws.
• Tracks have three lobes on the posterior end of the rear pads. are more asymmetrical.
  

Dog Tracks (in comparison)

• Tracks will be slightly smaller in size with four toes.
• Tracks are more symmetrical.
• Tracks will often include claw marks.
• Tracks of dogs' rear pads are more rounded.

Bobcat Tracts (in comparison)

• Tracks are much smaller at 2-3 inches in total diameter.
• Tracks look more like a typical house cat.
  

The earliest published reference to panthers in Alabama is probably Bartram's 1791 reference to "tygers" on the lower Tombigbee River. Other records from the 1800's include Uchee Creek (probably Russell County), Baldwin County and Dekalb County. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Alabama's panthers were either gone or nearly so.

Although sightings of large cat-like (i.e. long-tailed and round short-eared) animals are reported from around Alabama on a regular basis, there has been no physical evidence of cougars of a direct or indirect nature authenticated by an Alabama wildlife professional in decades. No doubt, many of these sightings are of bobcats, which occur statewide and may attain a weight of 40 pounds or more. However, it seems reasonable to assume that at least some of the reported sightings may, in fact, be cougars. Young adult cougars may range over hundreds of square miles (100-200 thousand acres) and in dispersal behavior may travel linear distances of many hundreds of miles. Also, a few people in the Southeast have caged western cougars. These animals occasionally escape, and they may manage to survive for some time in the wild.

Although sightings of large cat-like (i.e. long-tailed and round short-eared) animals are reported from around Alabama on a regular basis, there has been no physical evidence of cougars of a direct or indirect nature authenticated by an Alabama wildlife professional in decades.

In south Florida where a small breeding population of cougars is known to exist, it is not that unusual for animals to be killed by automobiles and occasionally by illegal shooting. Apparently this has not happened in Alabama any time in recent memory. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that if cougars do exist in Alabama, they are extremely rare and of a transient and temporary nature (just passing through).

While many of us in the wildlife and natural resource conservation profession would like to see cougars return to Alabama in a more permanent nature, it seems unlikely that a viable breeding population can re-establish. Food for cougars is abundant but the fragmented nature of Alabama's forested habitats may not provide the necessary security or home range quality required by these large, secretive and wide-ranging predators.

Additional Positive Reports Include:

1956-A cougar was shot in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

1961-A cougar track was confirmed in Clarke County on the Fred T. Stimpson Wildlife Sanctuary.

During the Same Era (exact date unknown)-A Game & Fish enforcement officer confirmed a den with cubs in north Baldwin County.