TENNESSEE — Reports of mountain lion sightings continue to be made across Tennessee, more than 100 years after the species was largely eliminated from the state.
Mountain lions, also known as cougars, once inhabited Tennessee but disappeared in the early 1900s due to hunting, habitat loss and human expansion. Today, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) says there is no known breeding population of cougars in the state. However, wildlife officials acknowledge that individual animals occasionally appear in Tennessee.
Unlike some neighboring states where sightings remain unconfirmed, Tennessee has documented several verified cougar occurrences. In 2015, TWRA confirmed the first verified mountain lion sighting in Tennessee in more than a century after analyzing trail camera photographs from Obion County. Wildlife officials emphasized that the confirmation of a single animal did not indicate the existence of an established population. The agency noted the cougar was likely a transient animal or a released captive.
Following that discovery, the agency created a Cougar Action Team to investigate reports and track evidence submitted by the public. Additional sightings have since been confirmed through photographs, DNA evidence and other documentation. TWRA has stated that western cougars expanding eastward are the most likely source of verified Tennessee sightings.
According to TWRA, the agency has never stocked cougars in Tennessee and has no plans to establish a population. Instead, officials monitor the natural movement of animals that may disperse from western states into the Midwest and eastern United States. The agency says western cougars are gradually expanding their range and are the most likely explanation for Tennessee’s confirmed sightings.
Sighting reports continue to come from across the state, including West Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains region. Researchers have noted that several mountain lion reports are received annually from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, though most have not been confirmed with physical evidence.
Wildlife officials caution that many reported mountain lion sightings turn out to be cases of mistaken identity involving bobcats, large dogs or other animals. Nonetheless, Tennessee remains one of the few eastern states to have confirmed cougar appearances during the past decade.
TWRA encourages anyone who believes they have encountered a mountain lion to document the sighting with photographs, video, tracks or other physical evidence and submit the information for review. While there is still no evidence of a breeding cougar population in Tennessee, verified sightings demonstrate that the species occasionally passes through the state more than a century after disappearing from its historic range.
