The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the eastern cougar from the endangered species list on Wednesday, . The species has likely been extinct for 70 years.
European settlers wiped out eastern cougars in the 19th century to protect themselves and livestock. The big cat was put on the endangered species list in 1973聽but hasn鈥檛 been seen since the 1930s. Recent cougar sightings are considered to be western cougars migrating east.聽
鈥淭his is a somber moment to think about what the land under our feet used to be like聽and what roamed here,鈥澛燤ichael Robinson, of the Center for Biological Diversity, told the AP. 鈥淚t should be a clarion call to recover pumas and all of our apex predators to sustainable levels to help rebalance a world that is out of kilter.鈥
All American cougars are genetically similar, and there is聽debate over whether the eastern variety constitutes a subspecies, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife is proceeding as if they are. The decision to remove them from the endangered species list will be open to public comment for 60 days before it is finalized.