The Cougar Sightings

                         The Cougar Sightings

I guess my expectations were too low because, as the sighting kept coming in from more and more counties, it seemed cougars were everywhere. Here are the sightings and counties; Pulaski County (5), Hot Springs County (1), Ashley County (1), Searcy County (1), Cross County (1), Columbia County (2), Lafayette County (3), Ouachita County (1), Van Buren County (1), Yell County (1), Desha County (1), Union County (1), Bradley County (1), Perry County (1), Benton County (2), Montgomery County (1), Polk County (1), Arkansas County (2), and Sebastian County (1). That’s a total of 19 counties with 28 confirmed sighting. Of the sighting 5 were said to be black cougars, and one sighting was a female with two cubs. It’s a little difficult to pinpoint the cougar hot spots, but southwest Arkansas certainly seems to have a breeding population, and as expected, most of the sighting were adjacent to dense timber, usually near major streams.

An estimate of cougars would have to take into account that they are only found in the least populated areas of the state, and are very shy as far as being seen. Of course, in the count, there may be cougars that have been spotted twice, especially in Pulaski County. But it is possible that each sighting was an individual cougar, and that the most populous county in the state has a significant population of big cats. Of course, we must realize, not everyone in the state reads my column. In fact my column doesn’t appear on a regular basis in the NW Arkansas Democrat-Gazette edition.

Since some of the areas of the state, especially in northwest and northcentral parts of Arkansas are more remote and forested, and those folks didn’t participate in the cougar count, I would have to increase my estimate of cougars in the state by at least a third, which would increase the possible number of cougars to 36. Of course, since cougars would normally be in the deepest of the remaining big woods in the state, and well away from any towns and farms it would stand to reason we have spotted only about 25% of the cougars in the state. If you add all of the known sighting and extrapolate them to get a definitive number of cougars in Arkansas it would increase the number to between 100 and 125 cougars. Of course that sounds as if we could spot a cougar on every corner, but knowing how many were actually spotted and then considering the deep woods in the Ozarks, Ouachitas, and the old growth timber along our major rivers, and you might conclude I have underestimated the number.  But considering the above factors, it is clear that cougars are certainly present in our state, and not just a big cat or two that escaped from cages.

The game camera pictures clearly show full grown cougars prowling the woods. One of them, recorded by Emmanuel Keith, has been photographed several times in the same area. The picture, taken by James Mitchell in Yell County, has a clear picture of a large cougar that has just killed a feral hog. This picture was shown to the Game and Fish Commission, and they tried to trap the cougar, but were unsuccessful. Since I mention the Game and Fish Commission let me comment that there were other sightings that were reported to the Commission, which essentially they ignored, and as we know, the Game and Fish Commission’s official statement is that these cougars are ones have escaped somehow from a zoo or circus or they were pets, and there isn’t a breeding population in the State. I think it obvious, because of the number of reputable, confirmed sighting that there are not one or two escaped cougars in the state, but maybe as many as a 125, and from the sighing in southwest Arkansas, we know there is a breeding population.

The Game and Fish Commission should recognize the obvious. (1) There are probably well over a 100 cougars in the state and there is a breeding population. (2) With this recognition there should be regulations to protect the small population of cougars that are essential to the restoration of a balanced ecosystem. As noted from one of the game camera pictures, feral hogs are a part of the cougar’s diet--- it captures a picture of a cougar who has just grabbed a feral hog, and still has blood around its mouth from the kill. Of course we know feral hogs are a huge problem in the state. The game camera pictures with this report clearly show big cats, and there are other game cameras at the sites to confirm that all the pictures are indeed of cougars. (3) Currently, as noted a couple of years back when a hunter killed a cougar in Bradley County, there isn’t a penalty of any kind to protect the animals. The regulations should specifically prohibit the killing of cougars, and place a penalty equal to the amount that is placed on poaching an elk in North West Arkansas. (4) Mother Nature is doing her best to return a balanced ecosystem to our state by filling the predator vacuum with cougars, coyotes, bobcats, and bears. We should be helping in this restoration by protecting the cougars, closing bear season, discouraging the shooting of coyotes and bobcats, and putting a bounty on feral hogs. We can never expect to have a completely balanced ecosystem in our state unless we have large predators. Our quail are gone because the predators that held down the population of scavengers that eat quail eggs have been eliminated. If you want to see the cougars protected, the feral hog population reduced, and a drop in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in our deer herd reduced, (CWD would be reduced because cougar would eliminate the sickly deer and keep the disease from spreading.) let the Game and Fish Commission know you care about a balanced ecosystem in our state. Send your mail to Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 2 Natural Resources Dr. Little Rock, AR. 72205 or call 800-364-4263.

In closing let me just say this about our Game and Fish Commission: overall the Commission is doing a great job and our restored turkey, deer, and bear populations speaks for a job well done.  Our fishing lakes are some of the best in the nation, and the Commission represents the best interest of our hunters and fishermen of our state. I served on the P. C. & E. Commission with Steve Wilson, the former Executive Director of the Game and Fish Commission, and I can tell you, from knowing Steve, the Commission is undoubtedly at the top of anyone’s list of agencies in the state. However, they do need to recognize that 100 to 125 cougars roam our woods, and they need to be protected.