PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 31: Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species
Thursday, August 11, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Cougars strike back.
Lang, Le Duing1, Tessier, Nathalie1, Lapointe, François-Joseph1, 1 University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
ABSTRACT- The Eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar) also named "mystery cat" or "ghost panther" is a shy felid species that is rarely seen in the wild. Moreover, scientists started to think that this population had disappeared. However, hundreds of observations have been reported over the last decades. But the majority of these observations were unreliable and none was formally validated since the last cougar killed in 1938. Consequently, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) considers that there are not enough data to grant a particular status to this species. Various methods have been developed with an objective of confirming the presence of cougars in eastern Canada. The analyses of tracks, feces, or hairs under a microscope represent many promising techniques. Nevertheless, no single method can be applied to determine the presence of the cougar in an unambiguous way. For this project, hair samples were collected using scratching posts sprayed with a chemical solution that attracts cougars. A molecular identification technique was also developed to analyze the hair samples. This approach allowed us to confirm the presence of many cougars in New Brunswick and Quebec. Based on these promising results, a revised status is warranted by the COSEWIC.
Key words: Eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar), molecular identification, hairs, scratching posts