 The cougar was extirpated across much of its eastern North American range ( with the exception of Florida ) in the two centuries after European colonization , and faced grave threats in the remainder of its territory . Currently , it ranges across most western American states , the Canadian provinces of Alberta , Saskatchewan and British Columbia , and the Canadian territory of Yukon . There have been widely debated reports of possible <unk> of eastern North America . DNA evidence has suggested its presence in eastern North America , while a consolidated map of cougar sightings shows numerous reports , from the mid @-@ western Great Plains through to eastern Canada . The Quebec wildlife services ( known locally as <unk> ) also considers cougar to be present in the province as a threatened species after multiple DNA tests confirmed cougar hair in <unk> mating sites . The only unequivocally known eastern population is the Florida panther , which is critically endangered . There have been unconfirmed sightings in <unk> <unk> , Maine ( north of <unk> ) ; and in New Hampshire , there have been unconfirmed sightings as early as 1997 . In 2009 , the Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed a cougar sighting in Michigan 's Upper Peninsula . Typically , extreme @-@ range sightings of cougars involve young males , which can travel great distances to establish ranges away from established males ; all four confirmed cougar kills in Iowa since 2000 involved males . 
