Return of the Cougars

An abstract presented at the 100th Ecological Science at the Frontier conference has done an analysis on the reintroduction of cougars to the eastern United States. Puma concolor still roams the western United States but has been extinct in the east for some 70 years; this analysis specifically looked at the financial pros and cons of reintroducing them to their former range.

The cougars main food source would be white tailed deer and the commensurate financial benefit to their reintroduction generally comes from there being less deer. Given that white tailed deer are involved in hundreds of thousands of collisions with vehicles every year, causing 29,000 human injuries and 211 human deaths per year at a cost of $1.1 billion there seems to be a clear area for potential benefit there. Unchecked deer populations have also led to ever greater damage of crops.

The researchers, from the University of Alaska, projected that over 50 years a successful reintroduction would save 53,000 injuries, 384 fatalities and $4.4 billion dollars as a result of lowering deer densities by about 22%. The deer themselves could also benefit. The cougars will be more likely to kill older and/or weaker animals so there will be fewer deer but the population as a whole would be stronger.

Financially then, the benefits seem clear and we should start buying cougars train tickets to Boston forthwith. But will the public go for the idea. The people of the eastern US are very used to being at the top of the food chain, they might not care for the idea of deliberately putting something near their house which could eat their dog, or their child, or themselves. But like with so many things; war, disease, Tory Governments; the fear of something tends to be far greater than the danger posed by the thing itself. Below I have composed a list of things that kill more people in a year than cougars in the US, in no particular order:

• Honeydew melons
• Being in a hot car
• Family pets
• Highschool shootings
• Falling out of bed
• Autoerotic asphyxiation
• Ants
• Vending machines

So, in summary, I say go for it.

Image used with permission