Editing Cougar (section)

==Conservation==
[[File:Florida panther kittens.jpg|thumb|Two cougar kittens at [[White Oak Conservation]]]]

The cougar has been listed as [[Least Concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] since 2008. However, it is also listed on [[CITES Appendix II]].<ref name="iucn" /> Hunting it is prohibited in California, [[Costa Rica]], [[Honduras]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Guatemala]], [[Panama]], [[Venezuela]], Colombia, [[French Guiana]], [[Suriname]], [[Bolivia]], Brazil, Chile, [[Paraguay]], [[Uruguay]] and most of Argentina. Hunting is regulated in Canada, Mexico, [[Peru]], and the United States.<ref name="CAP" /> Establishing [[wildlife corridor]]s and protecting sufficient range areas are critical for the sustainability of cougar populations. Research simulations showed that it faces a low extinction risk in areas larger than {{cvt|2200|km2}}. Between one and four new individuals entering a population per decade markedly increases persistence, thus highlighting the importance of habitat corridors.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Beier |first=P. |s2cid=55580710 |date=1993 |title=Determining minimum habitat areas and habitat corridors for Cougars |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=94–108 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07010094.x |jstor=2386646 |bibcode=1993ConBi...7...94B}}</ref>

The [[Florida panther]] population is afforded protection under the [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern Cougar |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a/saa48.html |access-date=May 20, 2007 |work=Endangered and Threatened Species of the Southeastern United States (The Red Book) |year=1991 |publisher=[[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403000340/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a/saa48.html| archive-date=April 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a/saa05.html |title=Florida Panther |access-date=June 7, 2007 |work=Endangered and Threatened Species of the Southeastern United States (The Red Book) |year=1993 |publisher=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604163840/http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/a/saa05.html|archive-date=June 4, 2007}}</ref> The Texas Mountain Lion Conservation Project was launched in 2009 and aimed at raising local people's awareness of the status and ecological role of the cougar and mitigating conflict between landowners and cougars.<ref>{{cite web |date=2007–2013 |title=Texas Mountain Lion Conservation Project |website=Balanced Ecology Inc. |url=http://balancedecology.org/MountainLionWebSite/Mountain_Lion_Conservation_Project.html |access-date=January 18, 2010 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729010958/http://balancedecology.org/MountainLionWebSite/Mountain_Lion_Conservation_Project.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Gendarmeria-libera-a-un-ejemplar-de-puma.jpg|thumb|A juvenile cougar about to be released into the wild in [[La Rioja Province, Argentina|La Rioja]], Argentina]]
The cougar is threatened by [[habitat loss]], [[habitat fragmentation]], and depletion of its prey base due to [[poaching]]. Hunting is legal in the western United States. In Florida, heavy traffic causes frequent accidents involving cougars. Highways are a major barrier to the dispersal of cougars.<ref name=iucn/> The cougar populations in California are becoming fragmented with the increase in human population and infrastructure growth in the state.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ernest |first1=H. B. |last2=Vickers |first2=T. W. |last3=Morrison |first3=S. A. |last4=Buchalski |first4=M. R. |last5=Boyce |first5=W. M. |title=Fractured genetic connectivity threatens a southern California Puma (''Puma concolor'') population |journal=PLoS One |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=e107985 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0107985 |pmc=4189954 |pmid=25295530 |year=2014 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...9j7985E  |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Human–wildlife conflict]] in proximity of {{cvt|5|km2}} of cougar habitat is pronounced in areas with a median human density of {{cvt|32.48|/km2|/sqmi|disp=preunit|inhabitants|inhabitants}} and a median livestock population density of {{cvt|5.3|/km2|/sqmi|disp=preunit|heads|heads}}. Conflict is generally lower in areas more than {{cvt|16.1|km}} away from roads and {{cvt|27.8|km}} away from settlements.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Guerisoli, M. D. L. M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Luengos Vidal, E. |author3=Caruso, N. |author4=Giordano, A. J. |author5=Lucherini, M. |year=2021 |title=Puma–livestock conflicts in the Americas: A review of the evidence |journal=Mammal Review |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=228–246 |doi=10.1111/mam.12224 |bibcode=2021MamRv..51..228G |s2cid=226336427}}</ref>