Puma concolor (Mountain Lion)
Credit: National Park Service
about the species
Mountain lions (also called cougars, pumas, panthers, and catamounts) are widely distributed in the western hemisphere, occurring from Canada's Yukon to to southern tip of South America. Throughout this extensive range, they have adapted to a wide variety of habitat types and often play an important ecological role as a top predator. Through the California Wildlife Protection Act, voters designated mountain lions as a specially protected species in California.
why species was selected
Mountain lions have large home ranges and are capable of long distance dispersal, and as such, they are strongly impacted by habitat fragmentation. In areas of reduced landscape connectivity, small and isolated mountain lion populations can experience reduced genetic diversity and severe inbreeding, with deleterious consequences on the viability of the populations. As a result, some populations are being considered for listing as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
