
With a few confirmed sightings every year, it is thought there may be about 20-30 in the state currently. While mountain lions were considered rare in Arkansas after 1920, it seems they are making a comeback. Find out more about Mountain Lions in Arizona here. Hunting is legal, but closely regulated by the state. The most common areas to see mountain lions in Arizona are in places of rocky and mountainous terrain. The current estimate is 2,000 – 2,700 throughout Arizona.

Mountain lions can be found throughout Arizona, and data suggests the populations are not only stable, but growing. Learn more about Mountain Lions in Alaska here. Populations of mule deer are increasing in some parts of Alaska, and this could attract mountain lions to the area. Often, people who thought they spotted a mountain lion saw another member of the wild cat family, the lynx. Most sightings have been in southern Alaska, with a few rare sightings in the interior. There is currently no breeding population of Mountain Lions in Alaska. Read more about the status of Mountain Lions in Alabama here. There are occasional reports of people who think they saw one, maybe they even took a blurry picture, but those are most likely bobcats. Mountain Lions have a status of extirpated in Alabama, there have been no confirmed sightings in the state in over 50 years. StateĠ, thought to be a few free-ranging cougarsĠ, confirmed presence, no large population They are accurate to the best of our knowledge. This list is for breeding mountain lion populations, but some sightings are noted. The following population estimates were taken from state government websites, and other authoritative sources. states for almost 100 years, however roaming cougars from western states often travel east searching for territory. Mountain lions have been extirpated (considered extinct) from the eastern U.S. Note that many of these states have had sightings over the years, and continue to have them, but that doesn’t necessarily constitute a population in the state. states do not have any population of breeding cougars. We will look at the currently accepted population numbers, and any other notable information and history about cougars in that state.

states with Mountain lion populationsīelow we will talk about the mountain lion populations in each U.S. Note: We will use Cougar and Mountain Lion interchangeably throughout this article. states that Mountain Lions call home, as well as those that they don’t.

So let’s dive right into the article and have a look at all of the U.S. Image: USFWS Mountain-Prairie | CC BY 2.0 | flickr Having said that, through conservation efforts these big cats are making a comeback in many areas with their ranges and populations growing. Mountain Lions have been more prevalent to the west in the last 100 years, but many of the pockets of breeding populations east of the Mississippi River have been wiped out over the decades due to habitat loss and hunting. We’re going to look at Mountain Lion population by state, though many states don’t have a population as Cougars are mainly found in Western U.S. The big cats of North America are Cougars (often referred to as Mountain Lions), and Jaguars. In this article we’ll be focusing on the former of those big cats in the United States, the Mountain Lion. The smaller wild cats are the Bobcat, Lynx, Ocelot, and Jaguarundis. There are 6 species of wild cats in North America, and 2 of those are what we consider “big cats”.
