Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

(Grus americana), California condor
(Gymnogyps californianus), and peregrine
falcon (Falco peregrinus).
Additionally, given that the species in
question is not just endangered but large,
carnivorous, potentially hazardous to
humans, and an effective ecological
regulator of ungulates that figure
prominently in a deeply entrenched hunting
tradition, there is certainly potential for
controversy and conflict among various
public constituencies.
Still, there are intriguing possibilities for
the future of the puma in eastern North
America. Even despite the limitations of the
ESA, given nothing more than appropriate
deer management, can the once ubiquitous
puma survive, re-populate, and thrive in the
East, Midwest, and Great Plains? Evidence
presented in this paper tends to support this
scenario.
What truly are the public attitudes
toward this widely ranging and exquisitely
adaptable carnivore? Do agency attitudes
mirror public sentiment? These critical
human dimension wildlife topics would
make excellent subject matter for a graduate
student project.
As pumas return to the Great Plains,
Midwest, and East, there will inevitably be
conflict, as occurs in the West, with
agricultural and suburban interests.
Exemplifying this, uncannily, as this paper
was being revised in October 2003, a freeranging
young male puma, presumably
dispersing from the west, was captured and
placed into captivity after causing public
unrest and alarm in urban Omaha, Nebraska.
Meanwhile, in Iowa another young male
puma was shot and killed by a farmer.
Can we as wildlife professionals devise a
new ESA or state-level paradigm for
carnivore management, and specifically the
phenomenon of novel puma presence, that
provides effective oversight for scientific,
evidence-based decisions while allowing for
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
CRYPTIC COUGARS · Tischendorf 81
sensible managerial flexibility and creativity
at the key stakeholders’ state and local
level? Does the JAGCT, with its formal and
proactive conservation agreement with the
USFWS, provide a workable model for this?
Are there in fact several low density,
highly mobile puma populations and
breeding foci in eastern and mid-western
North America? This question remains
unresolved, but the growing body of
evidence discussed herein suggests that this
possibility should not be discounted.
Finally, despite the substantial evidence
to the contrary, if pumas are in fact absent
from the landscapes of the prairies,
Midwest, and East, what is the prognosis for
their human-aided restoration in seemingly
viable ecosystems like the Adirondack
Mountains, the prey-rich Alleghenies, the
Ozark or Ouachita Mountains, or the
expansive northern forests of Minnesota,
Michigan, and Maine?
Many of these and other questions were
raised and addressed in detail at the historic
“Eastern Cougar Conference, 1994” held in
Erie, Pennsylvania in June 1994
(Tischendorf and Ropski 1996). This was
the first, and remains the only, formal
conference ever devoted entirely to the
subject of pumas in eastern North America.
A second conference is planned for
Morgantown, West Virginia, in April 2004.
This conference will roughly mark the tenth
anniversary of the first gathering, providing
a centralized forum for ongoing discussions
and updates on research related to this
intriguing subject.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, 4 key points:
1. Adaptable animals adapt and the
puma is one of the most adaptable
land mammals in the New World.
2. There are no ecological reasons why
the puma could not exist in eastern