Long Vanished Eastern Puma Has Been Added To The Extinction List

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On January 22nd, 2018 Eastern Pumas were officially declared extinct. The beautiful, proud felines were once discovered all along the eastern side of the Mississippi River and now their time has passed. That's hardly a new phenomenon. We learn about at least one species going extinct every week, but there is no such thing as getting used to it. When the US Fish and Wildlife Service put out the news that the Eastern Puma was moved from the ‘endangered’ to the ‘extinct’ category, it had been expected by the conservationists.

This was not a sudden occurrence, according to Truth Theory. For the past 100 years, this species has been teetering on the brink of extinction. At the turn of the twentieth century, hunters and trappers had already wiped out most of the population. According to Mark Elbroch, the leading expert in Panthera’s puma division, the animals have been going into extinction for a long time.

It was only in 2011 when the US Fish and Wildlife Service began intensively researching the situation of the Eastern Puma. They typically live in the forests and marshes along the coast, and they've been in the endangered category since 1973 despite never having been seen in their usual habitats for the last 30 years. A hunter in Maine killed the last recorded member of the species back in 1938. That was before World War II had even begun.

Four years ago, biologists who worked in the federal wildlife department independently concluded that nothing could save the pumas on the East coast. They also concluded that there was no point in keeping them under the ambit of the Endangered Species Act anymore.

Genetically, the pumas are related to the mountain lions that can still be found in the western regions of North America. They are also family to the Florida panther which lives only in the Everglades. Those Panthers are also highly endangered, with their numbers diminishing every year. The Eastern Puma was about 8 ft in length from the tip of their noses to their tails and weighed more than 60 kgs in their prime. They were majestic, and they used to be the most commonly found mammal that lived on land in this part of Earth.

Of course, good things last only until human beings come along. After a systematic effort to exterminate them and the encroachment on their living areas, this species has been entirely wiped out. Several were captured for their beautiful pelts, and many others were killed for stealing people’s cattle and poultry.

Nevertheless, some conservationists still hold out hope. By being moved to the extinct category, they may be able to find more avenues to revive the population with some assistance from their many relatives. Carnivores of that size are very useful in ensuring that deer do not multiply at unsustainable levels and prevent the spread of diseases caused by ticks that are harmful to humans. Therefore, it's quite necessary for the states in that area to work on reintroducing this species to the wild.

Fortunately, as more and more people are now becoming aware that other species need to be protected, there's more discourse than ever on the topic. New efforts are being made each day, and if we all do our best, we may be able to save the other creatures that belong here with us.