Cougars are re-populating their historical range in areas of the U.S. Midwest, reversing 100 years of decline, researchers say. 

“The cougar population declined dramatically from 1900, due to both hunting, and a lack of prey, leaving the remaining population isolated to the American west,” Michelle LaRue from the University of Minnesota wrote in The Journal of Wildlife Management.

While the three main cougar populations in the Midwest are centered around The Black Hills in South Dakota, cougars are venturing far outside of this range, researches said, and one male cougar from the Black Hills was found to have traveled 1,800 through Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York before ending up in Connecticut.

“The question now is how the public will respond after living without large carnivores for a century,” she said. “We believe public awareness campaigns and conservation strategies are required across these states, such as the Mountain Lion response plans already in place in Nebraska and Missouri.”

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