Cougar Hunting

	About Us
	Sightings
	Pictures
	Forums
	FAQ

In the early 1900's, conflicts between people and cougars increased with settlement of rural areas in US. In the early 20th Century, bounty payments encouraged the killing of cougars in an attempt to protect humans and cattle from the cougar. The bounty payments were extremely successful.

By mid-century, the cougar population had been reduced to the point that no cougars have been seen in the Eastern US for the past 25 years. They were presumed extinct in the Eastern US until 1997 when several sightings were reported in Alabama and the Appalachian Mountains.

A subspecies of cougar lives in the West. Several Western states began reclassifying the cougar as a game species that afforded the cougar a degree of protection.

Recently human and cougar encounters have again increased as people move into areas that are more rural and develop the land.

In Napa County, California, the Department of Fish and Game reports no cougars were killed between 1972 and 1979. In the next decade, 1980-1990, only one cougar was killed. Between 1990 and 2000 14 cougars were killed were legally killed with depredation permits. In the three years between 2000 and 2003, there were 20 cougars killed.

In Oregon last year, sport hunters had killed 264 cougars.

Last updated May 28, 2007 cougar