Eastern Cougars Declared Extinct—But That Might Not be Bad
Not since 1932 and 1938 in New Brunswick and Maine, respectively, were cougars officially recorded in the northeastern U.S.—at least in terms of breeding populations. But the big cats weren't always so scarce. Before the 19th century, cougars were abundant in this range.
However, on January 22, the Eastern cougar subspecies was officially declared extinct in the U.S. and
removed from the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Surprisingly, some scientists say, this removal could be a good thing. Cougars have a long, complicated history of existence in North America, but conservationists see a future where that's not the case.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...n-extinct-spd/