On Tuesday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list as the animal has likely been extinct for at least 70 years.

The proposal to remove the cougars from the list of endangered and threatened species came nearly 80 years after the last of those mountain lions were believed to have been trapped and killed in New England.

Martin Miller, northeast chief of endangered species said, "We recognize that people have seen cougars in the wild in the Eastern US. Those cougars are not of the eastern cougar subspecies”.

In the 1800s, most of the eastern cougars disappeared as European settlers killed them to protect themselves and their livestock. Also, cougar's primary prey, white-tailed deer, nearly disappeared after forests were harvested.

The eastern cougar was listed as endangered in 1973. They were once the most widely distributed land mammal in the western hemisphere. The big cats are known across the US by a variety of names such as mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount.

The last records of eastern cougars are believed to be in Maine in 1938 and in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1932.

The proposal to remove these animals from the endangered species list was being published in the Federal Register. It will be available for public inspection for 60 days.

The public can review and comment on the proposal online through August 17. The proposal has not affected the status of the Florida panther, which will remain listed as endangered.