<P> Home range sizes and overall cougar abundance depend on terrain, vegetation, and prey abundance . One female adjacent to the San Andres Mountains, for instance, was found with a large range of 215 km (83 sq mi), necessitated by poor prey abundance . Research has shown cougar abundances from 0.5 animals to as much as 7 (in one study in South America) per 100 km (38 sq mi). </P> <P> Because males disperse farther than females and compete more directly for mates and territory, they are most likely to be involved in conflict . Where a subadult fails to leave his maternal range, for example, he may be killed by his father . When males encounter each other, they hiss, spit, and may engage in violent conflict if neither backs down . Hunting or relocation of the cougar may increase aggressive encounters by disrupting territories and bringing young, transient animals into conflict with established individuals . </P> <P> The cougar has the largest range of any wild land animal in the Americas . Its range spans 110 degrees of latitude, from northern Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes . Its wide distribution stems from its adaptability to virtually every habitat type: it is found in all forest types, as well as in lowland and mountainous deserts . The cougar prefers regions with dense underbrush, but can live with little vegetation in open areas . Its preferred habitats include precipitous canyons, escarpments, rim rocks, and dense brush . </P> <P> 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 recolonization 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 MRNF) also considers cougar to be present in the province as a threatened species after multiple DNA tests confirmed cougar hair in lynx mating sites . The only unequivocally known eastern population is the Florida panther, which is critically endangered . There have been unconfirmed sightings in Elliotsville Plantation, Maine (north of Monson); 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 . </P>

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