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Though the subspecies Puma concolor couguar has been officially extirpated from the Commonwealth since 1871, puma sightings continue to be reported in Pennsylvania today. Clearly an un-official population still remains, or does it? The existence of pumas, a.k.a. cougars, a.k.a. mountain lions, a.k.a. panthers is almost as difficult to document in the eastern U.S. as it is to track their many aliases. Yet this shy, reclusive cat looms larger than life, with or without valid proof of its presence. So why are Pennsylvanians fascinated with pumas?

Could it be the allure of the predator? A desire to restore something lost? Or sheer panic at the exploding population of white-tailed deer? Whatever the reason, there's enough anecdotal evidence to support the possibility that pumas could be in Pennsylvania, but where did they come from and are they here to stay?

Pumas (and wolves) were once the top predators throughout eastern North America, occupying a crucial link in the ecosystem. But by the mid-1800s, increased bounty hunting and habitat destruction had sealed their fate. Many Eastern forests were being cleared for agriculture, leaving people fearful of pumas for their own safety and for that of their livestock. As a means of predator control, pumas were hunted with dogs until they were believed to be gone from the Eastern United States and Canada by about 1900. Hunting of deer herds almost to extirpation during that same time period, also contributed to the pumas' decline. However, puma sightings in remote areas have never completely ceased and now, more than one hundred years later, the jury is still out on the status of Pennsylvania cougars.

Alluding to what scientists know about roadkill and wildlife population density ratios, Mark Dowling, co-founder of The Cougar Network reasons, "If you had a population of cougars in Pennsylvania, I would expect a higher incidence of roadkill, because there are more people and more roads." Tom Hardisky, a Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist who has investigated more than 100 alleged mountain lion sightings during his 16 years with the agency would seem to agree, "Eastern mountain lions have been gone, all evidence indicates, for well over 100 years. It just doesn't fit for Pennsylvania. We don't have enough wild area, and they would just get into trouble."

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