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FAQ

Quick Links to Answers Below:

What is The Cougar Fund's mission?
What are the objectives of The Cougar Fund?
Where does The Cougar Fund work?
With whom does The Cougar Fund work?
Where does The Cougar Fund get its funding?
How can I help The Cougar Fund conserve and protect cougars?
What is The Cougar Fund’s approach to conserving cougars?
What is the Cougar Fund’s position on hunting?
Does The Cougar Fund work with biologists and other scientists?
Does the Cougar Fund work with other groups and agencies?
How is The Cougar Fund helping to reduce conflicts between cougars and people?
How many cougars are there in the United States?

Q: What is The Cougar Fund's mission?

A: The Cougar Fund is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization working to protect the cougar (also referred to as mountain lion, panther and puma) throughout the Americas'.

Q: What are the objectives of The Cougar Fund?

A: The Cougar Fund:

• advocates for cougar conservation and management policies that are based on the best available peer-reviewed science
• supports conservation research and disseminates scientific information that informs cougar conservation;
• educates people on the ecological values of cougars, the issues and controversies surrounding this species, and how to live and recreate wisely and safely in cougar country
• calls on fish and game agencies to enact stronger protections for female cougars and dependent cubs by implementing female sub-quotas where sport hunting is allowed;
• funds and supports the acquisition and protection of cougar habitat when appropriate opportunities arise.

Q: Where does The Cougar Fund work?

A: The Cougar Fund is based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but works throughout the United States. We can be reached at info@cougarfund.org or 307-733-0797.

Q: With whom does The Cougar Fund work?

A: The Cougar Fund works with a variety of organizations and individuals with a stake in cougar conservation, including fish and game personnel, cougar researchers and conservation scientists, non-governmental organizations, community groups, and individuals.

Q: Where does The Cougar Fund get its funding?

A: The Cougar Fund is funded through private donations and grants from individuals and foundations.

Q: How can I help The Cougar Fund conserve and protect cougars?

A: There are a number of things you can do. Get the Facts. Speak Out. Take Action. Speak Out.

By becoming a member of The Cougar Fund, you become an active partner in our mission to protect and conserve this majestic species. We keep you updated on news and developments with e-mail alerts, newsletters and information on our web site. We let you know when and where important decisions about cougar management are being made and how you can participate, whether by writing a letter or attending a public meeting, to help ensure they advance and not hinder the conservation of cougars. Whether you decide to become a member, we encourage you to use this website as a resource to help educate your friends, family and neighbors about cougars, their important ecological role, the challenges and threats they face, and how to live and recreate wisely in cougar country.

We encourage you learn more about how cougars are managed in your state. Every citizen has a stake in cougar management, even if you live in a city and never visit cougar habitat. Make sure your perspective is included in management decisions by calling and writing your state’s fish and game department and attending fish and game commission meetings.

The Cougar Fund believes that sport-hunting quotas for all wildlife, including large carnivores like the cougar, should based on peer-reviewed scientific research. We also believe that expressing disagreement with policies that allow hunters to kill females -- thereby leading to the orphaning and ultimately, the inhumane death of countless kittens -- is very important. Finally, ask them what they are doing about these issues.

Q: What is The Cougar Fund’s approach to conserving cougars?
A: The Cougar Fund seeks to ensure the conservation of this large magnificent carnivore across its range by promoting the use of sound science in conservation and management and providing for education, habitat conservation, and research. We collaborate with state wildlife agencies, cougar researchers, sportsmen and other non-governmental organizations. We educate the public so that they are aware of the important ecological role of cougars, and how to live and recreate safely in cougar country.

Reflecting our broad-based and inclusive approach, our board of directors includes scientists, artists, hunters, and professionals in a variety of different fields. We collaborate with state wildlife agencies, cougar researchers sportsmen and other non-governmental organizations. We embrace dialogue with all interested parties and believe the public needs to be better educated in order to ensure public safety.

The Cougar Fund is interested in a balanced approach that considers the health of ecosystems and takes all species into consideration. We have funded the acquisition and protection of habitat that benefits myriad wildlife species, including elk, bison, moose, pronghorns, mule deer, wolves, and grizzly bears. The Cougar Fund helps fund and supports research that examines the many factors that can negatively impact cougars, their prey, and their habitat.

Q: What is the Cougar Fund’s position on hunting?
A: The Cougar Fund strives to give voice to the diverse human values towards cougars while providing alternatives to funding issues facing scientists and agency professionals today.

Hunters serve on The Cougar Fund’s board of directors and participate in our work through active membership status. Hunting is a value-laden issue. Where sport hunting of cougars is permitted it must carefully regulated so as to not threaten cougar population viability or prevent them carrying out their important ecological role. We do have ethical concerns about most commonly used techniques to hunt cougars, including the use of hounds, radio-telemetry, and motorized vehicles. These activities can jeopardize the well being of other wildlife, including deer and deer in their critical wintering areas.

The Cougar Fund strives to give voice to the diverse human values towards cougars while providing alternatives to funding issues facing scientists and agency professionals today.

Q: Does The Cougar Fund work with biologists and other scientists?

A: Yes. The Cougar Fund has a number of biologists on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Board, including Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Marc Bekoff, Dr. Rick Hopkins, and Linda Sweanor, co-author of Desert Puma: Ecology and Conservation of an Enduring Carnivore.

In addition, we are in frequent contact with scientists conducting cougar research in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Montana as well as state game agency biologists throughout the West and mid-West. We are also involved with researchers working in Central and South America and Canada.

The Cougar Fund also actively funds cougar research.

Q: Does the Cougar Fund work with other groups and agencies?

A: The Cougar Fund works diligently to create collaborative relationships with state game agencies, scientist, hunters and conservationists. Through these efforts, The Cougar Fund is able to track and respond to the many issues facing cougars and other wildlife.

Q: How is The Cougar Fund helping to reduce conflicts between cougars and people?

A: Reducing conflicts between cougars and humans benefits people and cougars alike, and is crucial for cougar conservation. We are working to reduce conflicts by educating the public about cougars, by promoting the use of best management practices when living or recreating in cougar country (e.g., sound husbandry practices, put pets in at night, etc.), and through increasing public appreciation and tolerance for cougars as essential parts of the ecosystem. We believe that people who live or recreate in cougar habitat have a responsibility to learn about cougar ecology and behavior and the ways they can reduce the likelihood of negative interactions with them. There are a number of prudent measures recommended by cougar scientists and game and fish agencies that people can take to further reduce the already low risk of an adverse encounter with a cougar (LINK). Research shows that cougars usually avoid human dominated landscapes and rarely pose a threat to human safety. However, the only way to completely eliminate this risk is to not live or recreate in cougar habitat.

Q: How many cougars are there in the United States?

A: No one really knows. At present, cougars are absent from the eastern two-thirds of their historic range in the U.S. No western U.S. state has provided a scientifically defensible estimate of the number of cougars.