# Next-Biggest Cat after the Cougar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478 "2014-01-10T22:19:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/21 "2014-01-12T02:07:09Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Puma, cougar, saber tooth. What? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/22 "2014-01-12T03:23:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Pumas were exterminated in the eastern US except for Florida many years ago. In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of sightings in eastern states. The exact status, whether wandering individuals or a permanent population, is controversial in most areas. They do stay out of sight for the most part. I think people would be generally surprised at just how many there really are. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/23 "2014-01-12T05:15:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’d be very surprised if there was a breeding population of mountain lions in PA. Does anyone have an “official” cite for this? > > I could see it happening in the future, but now? I’d be surprised. [Here’s a bit more on pumas in Pennsylvania.](http://www.examiner.com/article/are-cougars-roaming-our-woods) > [@](#): > > There haven’t been any cougars in the wild in Pennsylvania for over 100 years. The last known Pennsylvania native cougar was killed in Berks County in 1874. Yet, there have been frequent reported sightings of cougars throughout the state; however most cases have been disproven based on examination of tracks, photos or other physical evidence. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has no evidence of wild, breeding populations of large cats in Pennsylvania. There have been plenty of reported sightings by respectable people, one game commission officer told me, so it is possible they are out there. But there is no verified proof. > > The last confirmed dead cougar in Pennsylvania was shot in 1967 by John Gallant in Crawford County. It was believed the cougar had been released or had escaped from a private wildlife establishment. Locally, mountain lions have been spotted in the forests of the Poconos and a few years ago; a large cat, which some thought was a mountain lion was seen several times on South Mountain and in Lower Saucon Township. No proof of that cat’s existence was ever found. In 2010, in Lycoming County a trail camera took a picture of an adult cougar. In 2008, a small cougar was sighted in the woods near a townhouse development in Downingtown. The next day it was sighted again by some nearby construction workers who were able to contain it with some temporary fencing; however, the cougar reacted so violently, the construction workers fearing for their safety killed the animal. However, a puma was killed on a highway in Connecticut in 2011 that was shown by genetic testing to have wandered more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pumas can wander very widely and are very secretive, so it is quite possible there are a few in the eastern US. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/24 "2014-01-13T02:58:51Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Apparently they are moving East again. Well, the band never made it big and their girlfriends were sick of supporting them. It was either wait tables or move back to mom’s basement. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/25 "2014-01-13T03:43:23Z")
You’re all wrong, the next-biggest car after the Cougar would be the Grand Marquis. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/26 "2014-01-13T16:56:51Z")
Hey, thanks for the replies! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/27 "2014-01-13T19:18:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Here’s a bit more on pumas in Pennsylvania.](http://www.examiner.com/article/are-cougars-roaming-our-woods) > > However, a puma was killed on a highway in Connecticut in 2011 that was shown by genetic testing to have wandered more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pumas can wander very widely and are very secretive, so it is quite possible there are a few in the eastern US. I fully expect them to expand their range, eventually, and have that encompass the east. There really isn’t anything stopping them anymore, and with deer populations exploding, there’s a good reason for them to do so. We co-exist with them in CA fairly well, although we do have a lot more non-populated habitat here even near the urban areas than you might find on the east coast. Certainly, northern New England and upstate NY should be good mountain lion habitat. I’m not as familiar with PA, but I seem to recall it’s pretty rural in the central part. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/28 "2014-01-13T21:20:58Z")
Who do I complain to to make the media here in California stop calling those critters “mountain lions”? Not only is the name much longer that “cougar”, “puma” or “panther”, it’s just wrong - doubly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/29 "2014-01-13T21:32:34Z")
How is it wrong? It’s one of the most well-known of the common names for that particular animal. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/30 "2014-01-13T21:34:12Z")
How do you feel about grapefruits? You know, they aren’t really grapes. And don’t even get me started on hamburgers. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/31 "2014-01-13T21:42:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > > [@Lukeinva](#): > > > > Puma, cougar, saber tooth. > > What? Maybe he meant Snaggletooth (AKA [Snagglepuss](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snagglepuss)). ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478/32 "2014-01-13T22:48:23Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > How is it wrong? It’s one of the most well-known of the common names for that particular animal. “Mountain lion” is wrong because because they aren’t lions and they aren’t exclusive to mountains. Of course I realize common names don’t have to be accurate, but there are at least three other nice, commonly understood, non-inaccurate, shorter (half the number of syllables) terms – yet the media seem to prefer “mountain lion”. “Jellyfish” are now “jellies” and “starfish” are now “sea stars”; let’s retire “mountain lion” too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-biggest-cat-after-the-cougar/678478.md?page=1)