Are There Panthers In The Appalachians?
The ancient Appalachian Mountains span from Canada's easternmost province of Newfoundland all the way south to central Alabama. Such a diverse range means that a wealth of large mammals, from moose to black bears to coyotes and bobcats, have been able to thrive in these dense and undulating woods.
But is it possible, as some sources suggest, that the largest cat in the Americas (i.e., five to eight feet in length and upwards of 220 pounds) has found its way back to an area in which it has long been extirpated? Perhaps the Florida panther has crept north into neighboring states. Or perhaps some mountain lions have wandered in from the west.
Panther, Mountain Lion, Puma, or Cougar?
Many common names have emerged to describe the western hemisphere's apex feline predators. Cougar, puma, painter, panther, catamount, mountain lion, and even "ghost cat" are all terms that refer (with one slight exception) to a single species: Puma concolor. Superficial differences observed across its range (which, covering Canada to Chile, is the largest domain of any cat species in the 麻豆AV and any mammal in North America) have long muddied the taxonomical waters. For instance, before its supposed extirpation in the first half of the 20th century, scientists distinguished the eastern cougar from its western counterpart. We now know that there was no basis for doing so. The only colloquial qualifier that accurately describes genetic variability is the Florida panther.
The Florida Panther
Due to prolonged geographical isolation, the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) has become a genetically distinct subspecies of, well, whatever you wish to call the largest native cat of the Americas. Historically, the Florida panther roamed not only the Sunshine State, but west into Arkansas and as far north as South Carolina. Sadly, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, its population has dwindled to somewhere between 120 and 230 (though it may have dropped as low as 10 before it was listed as Endangered in 1967). The breeding core is concentrated south of Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River (i.e. Everglades territory) but aberrant males have been documented just south of Jacksonville, and in 2008, one was even shot and killed in western Georgia. This wasn't quite far enough north to reach the Appalachians, but he was certainly knocking on the door.
History of the "Eastern" Cougar
In 2011, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar (once distinguished as Puma concolor cougar) to be extinct and then officially delisted it as an endangered species in 2018. As we previously discussed, this classification turned out to be moot, given that the big cats in the east were simply another population of the very same mountain lions that currently roam in 15 western and midwestern states (which, though populations are decreasing, are classified as Least Concern and managed on a state-by-state basis). Some scientists even suggest that the old taxonomic distinction should be dissolved entirely. Whatever the case, the last official sightings of cougars on the East Coast were in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, in 1932, and the state of Maine, in 1938 - marking the end of a long and brutal eradication campaign by European settlers in the name of the fur trade, protecting livestock, and general fear/disdain. However, sporadic reports from the western shadows of the Appalachians have been steadily amassing throughout the 2000s.
Sightings of Cougars Around the Appalachians
The only known breeding population of pumas (of any kind) east of the Mississippi is that of the Florida panther. However, recent migration trends and regular sightings (some verified, many unconfirmed) suggest that if eastbound mountain lions are not already in the Appalachians, they could potentially establish themselves in the coming decades.
Since the turn of the millennium, mountain lions went from scarce to solidified in midwestern states such as Nebraska, South Dakota, and Arkansas. In each case, the males made the first move, pushing into new territory in search of the bare necessities of survival, and then females slowly but surely followed suit. The easternmost extent of their confirmed range is not particularly viable, but if they do continue with the current direction of flow, the lush, deer-rich realms of the Appalachians (as they have been in the past) will once again prove optimal.
Various anecdotes out of Great Smokies and Shenandoah National Parks since the 1940s have suggested that mountain lions either never completely left the area, have been secretly reintroduced, or have returned in one-off cases. These reports are often met with skepticism by local authorities - thinking that the animal was either misidentified (recall, bobcats do live in the Appalachians) or, as has been the case, that a hoax was afoot. In fact, the National Parks Service still cites the mountain lion as "extirpated" on its list of mammals for the Great Smoky Mountains (i.e. a subrange of the Appalachians), and it is entirely absent from Shenandoah National Park's mammal checklist (not even a "rare" designation).
Though not quite confirmed in America's major mountains of the east, several western Tennessee encounters were verified in the 2010s. In one case, a trail camera captured a big cat on the prowl, and in another, DNA evidence was collected after a bow hunter shot (but didn't kill) what was later identified as a female cougar from South Dakota. There was also the 2014 case of a cougar being killed in Bourbon County, Kentucky. After genetic testing was performed, it was determined that it had migrated out of the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
Final Thoughts
Are there panthers in the Appalachians? Well, it depends on what you mean by "panther," it depends if you accept isolated incidents over confirmed populations, and it depends on how far west you're willing to stretch the mountain range's boundary. In short, the Puma concolor species has yet to be verified in the heart of these mountains. With that said, a few Florida panthers (that we know of) have gotten awfully close, and breeding populations of mountain lions continue to push ever further out of their western territories - within shouting distance of Appalachian subranges. Whether they are already here or on their way, it doesn't hurt for east coast hikers to be aware that an encounter with a novel predator is conceivable. If and when this happens, stay calm, don't run, make yourself look as big as possible, and then report the incident to local authorities as soon as it is safe to do so.
