Dwindling “Governor Cougar” Placed on Endangered Species List
Juneau, AK – The World Conservation Union (IUCN) identified yet another endangered species today when they added the Governor Cougar (Puma congovernor) to its “Red List”.
According to Holly Dublin, who is the Chairwoman of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, the move wasn’t a complete shock, but it did take the IUCN a little by surprise. “We initially thought we’d be able to keep this species off the ‘Red List’ for another 17 months, but on July 3rd we were informed that would unfortunately not be the case. Apparently, the Governor Cougar native to Alaska will no longer be in existence come July 30, 2009. Knowing that, we had no choice but to add this rare creature to our ‘Red List’.”
Dublin admitted she was a little discouraged by the news, but remained optimistic saying, “We’ve got one cougar native to Arizona that’s still going strong. Plus, the Governor Cougar’s gestation cycle is such that we have a chance to gain more of them every two years. Unfortunately, it’s a continuous uphill battle, as the life expectancy of a Governor Cougar is typically only 4-8 years.”
The Governor Cougar has always been a species that generates a great amount of public interest. Their existence was first confirmed in the mid 1920’s and their numbers had always been sparse. However, all of that changed in the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s as the population of Governor Cougars reached a record heights. Sadly, the population increase plateaued in late 2008/early 2009, and has since receded even further.
Wildlife experts from around the world been meeting in an effort to stabilize the population decline, but they have been unable to come up with a solution to this point. Many of them agree that a captive breeding program offers the Governor Cougar the best chance at recovery, but according to inside reports, the experts have been unable to agree on its location. It is rumored that both Wellesley College and Bryn Mawr College have offered to house the program at their colleges, but Dublin would neither confirm nor deny that statement.
