Corsica

In a referendum on July 6, 2003, a narrow majority of Corsican voters opposed a project from the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that would have suppressed the two départements of the island and granted greater autonomy to the territorial collectivity of Corsica. Talk to local authorities or park rangers to see if it is advisable before taking such a risk. However, the plans for increased autonomy were opposed by the Gaullist opposition in the French National Assembly, who feared that they would lead to calls for autonomy from other régions (such as Brittany or Alsace), eventually threatening France's unity as a country. Jogging, running, and biking on wildland trails can be particularly hazardous since such runners are likely to be less attentive to the surroundings and the motion can trigger a "chase and kill" reflex in the animal. According to the UNESCO classification, the Corsican language is currently in danger of becoming extinct. California law requires that wild animals who have attacked a human must be killed if they can be located. The proposed autonomy for Corsica would have included greater protection for the Corsican language (Corsu), the island's traditional language (which is also considered to be a dialect of Italian), whose practice and teaching, like other regional or minority languages in France, had in the past been discouraged. This, as well as the extinction in California of the wolf and brown bear, has allowed the puma to greatly increase its numbers, as there are usually no longer any competing predators able to steal a puma's kill, though a few black bears may be strong enough to do so.

In 2000, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin agreed to grant increased autonomy to Corsica in exchange for an end to violence. Pumas cannot be hunted in California except under very specific circumstances. It is sometimes suggested that such behavior could be directly related to longstanding cultural traditions of banditry in the rugged interior of the island. A young male puma was shot nearby by rangers later in the day. Prosecutions are made difficult by a pervasive "law of silence". On January 8, 2004 a puma killed and partly ate a mountain biker in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County, California; what is assumed to be the same animal attacked another mountain biker in the park the following day, but was fought off by other bikers. Journalists writing articles critical of the armed groups have sometimes been threatened. Pumas in such circumstances may come to lose their fear of both people and dogs and come to see them as prey.

Non-Corsican homeowners may be threatened with the destruction of their home, able to be avoided only through paying a ransom. Attacks by puma on humans and pets are associated with urban areas situated in the wildland urban intermix such as the Boulder, Colorado area which have encouraged the traditional prey of the puma, the mule deer, to habituate to urban areas and the presence of people and pets. Some of the independence groups are known to practice extortion and other intimidatory tactics, not dissimilar from mafia activity in Sicily and southern Italy. There were around 100 puma attacks on humans in the USA and Canada during the period from 1890 to January 2004, with 16 fatalities; figures for California were 14 attacks and 6 fatalities. Recent attacks on Muslims have reinforced this opinion. Attacks on humans are rare, but do occur — especially as humans encroach on wildlands and impact the availability of the puma's traditional prey. However, events such as the murder of préfet Claude Érignac on February 6, 1998 (for which Yvan Colonna was arrested five years later) have only served to convince many in Corsica, as well as in the French government and the general French public, that Corsican nationalists cannot be trusted with more autonomy. If a male puma invades the territory of another male, he may kill the kittens of resident females so that they will become receptive to mating.

The peaceful occupation of a pied-noir vineyard in Aléria in 1975 marked a turning point when the French government responded with overwhelming force, generating sympathy for the independence groups among the Corsican population. Female pumas usually have 3 or 4 kittens in a den in a rocky location. Some groups who claim to support Corsican independence have carried out a violent campaign since the 1970s that includes bombings and a few assassination attempts, usually targeting pieds-noirs and other non-Corsicans, or buildings and officials representing the French government. A male may breed with several females. There is support on the island for proposals of greater autonomy, but polls show that a large majority of Corsican are opposed to full independence. Adult males tend to claim a 250 km² (100 mile²) stretch for their territory; adult females take (50 to 150 km² (20 to 60 mile²) on average; however their ranges can vary from as much as 1,000 km² (370 mile²) to as little as 25 km² (10 mile²). The French government is opposed to full independence, as it would threaten France's unity, but has at times shown support for some level of autonomy. Like other cats, they will also move to certain areas for feeding.

Generally speaking, autonomist proposals focus on the promotion of the Corsican language, more power for local governments, and some exemptions from national taxes in addition to those already applying to Corsica. Pumas will catch and kill their prey 98% of the time, so perhaps they can afford to be a bit choosey. There are several movements on the island calling for some degree of Corsican autonomy from France, or even full independence. Pumas do not enjoy being scavengers, however, and will generally hunt for their own food and not eat from a carcass. Corsica is currently governed almost as any other région of France, as explained in the introduction. The carcass of the kill is usually then buried or partially covered to protect it for several days, while the puma continues to roam and comes back for nourishment as needed. Tourism is particularly concentrated in the area around Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio in the south of the island and Calvi in the northwest. They usually kill with a bite at the base of the skull to break the neck of their target.

However, the island has not had the same level of intensive development as other parts of the Mediterranean and is thus relatively unspoiled. They hunt alone and ambush their prey, often from behind. The island's pleasant climate, beautiful mountains and breathtaking coastlines make it a popular destination among the French and other Western Europeans. They normally hunt large mammals, such as deer and elk, but will eat small animals, such as beavers, porcupines or even mice, if the need arises. Tourism plays a major role in the Corsican economy. Pumas can kill and drag prey about 7 times their own weight. A local referendum held in 2003, aimed at disbanding the départements and leaving only the territorial collectivity with extended powers, was voted down by a narrow margin. There are no authenticated reports of truly melanistic pumas.

Recent attempts to gain greater autonomy for the territorial collectivity of Corsica have failed. Abnormally dark brown pumas with paler bellies have been described, primarily from South and Central America and were described as couguar noire in Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. These two départements were created on September 15, 1975 by splitting the hitherto united département of Corse. Abnormally pale and even white (leucistic but not albino) pumas exist. The territorial collectivity is divided in two départements: Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse. Kittens have irregular blotches of darker brown which can sometimes persist into adolescence but disappear by the time the cat is a year old. The capital of the territorial collectivity of Corsica is Ajaccio (Corsican: Aiacciu). The normal coloration of the puma is tawny or sandy, mimicking their principal prey, the deer.

In an attempt to do so, Napoleon's parents travelled to court in France, and, like many other Corsican nobles, sent their son to school there. Pumas that live closest to the equator are the smallest, and increase in size in populations closer to the poles. Corsica was under French control at the time, and Corsican nobles were offered the ability to gain French titles if they could prove their genealogy sufficiently. Their life span is about a decade in the wild and 25 years or more in captivity. Corsica is also the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio, into minor Corsican nobility. Puma kittens have brownish-blackish spots and rings on their tails. It was essentially with him that the Moor's head ("Testa Maura") became Corsica's emblem in 1760, hearking back to the period when Corsica had been controlled by Moors (850 to 1034). Adult females can be 2 m (7 ft) long and have a mass of about 35 kg (weigh approx 75 lb).

An important figure in Corsican history is Pasquale Paoli (1725-1807), the Corsican general and patriot who struggled for Corsican independence, first against Genoa, then against France. In exceptional cases males may reach as much as 90 kg. The city state of Genoa held sway over the island for centuries before ceding Corsica to France in 1768 to help pay off a debt. Adult males may be more than eight feet long (nose to tail), and have a mass of about 70 kg (weigh approx 150 lb). During those times, possible unification with the neighbouring island of Sardinia was seen as a dangerous eventuality by many European states, because it would have given the ruler of the islands a dominant position in the Mediterranean Sea. Puma claws are retractable and they have four toes. Because of the strategic position it occupies in the Mediterranean, Corsica has long been considered significant as a platform for military operations, particularly during the several centuries of violent conflict between Italy and France. Their bite strength is more powerful than that of any domestic dog.

Two endangered subspecies of hoofed mammals, the mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) and Corsican red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) inhabit the island; the Corsican red deer is endemic. The puma can run as fast as 50 km/h (30 mph), jump 6 m (20 ft) from a standing position, vertically leap 2.5 m (8 ft), and often weigh more than 70 kg (150 lb). This park is protected and cannot be reached on foot, but sumptuous sails are available in order to discover unique landscapes. Pumas are tawny-colored with black-tipped ears and tail. The park was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and some of the highest mountains on the island. circa 1990) and an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 in Colorado. The island has a natural park (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse), which protects thousands of rare animal and plant species. There are an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 pumas in California (est.

Much of the coastal lowlands has been cleared for agriculture, and grazing and logging have reduced the mountain forests considerably. They have also begun preying on pets, such as dogs and cats, and livestock, but have rarely turned to people as a source of food. The mountains are cooler and wetter, and home to the Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, which support diverse forests of oak, pine, and broadleaf deciduous trees, with vegetation more typical of northern Europe on the slopes of the highest peaks. Due to urbanization in the urban-wildland interface, pumas often come into contact with people, especially in areas with a large population of deer, their natural prey. The coastal lowlands are part of the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion, in which forests and woodlands of evergreen sclerophyll oaks predominate, chiefly Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) and Cork Oak (Quercus suber). There are continuing reports of the survival of a remnant population of the Eastern Cougar in New Brunswick, Ontario, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The natural vegetation was Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub. It is anticipated that they will soon expand their range over the entire eastern and southern United States.

The island has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Pumas have been seen along the northern shore of Lake Superior with an attack on a horse in Ely, Minnesota in 2004. Other towns and villages:. Pumas are gradually extending their range to the east, following creeks and riverbeds, and have reached Missouri and Michigan. Main towns: (Corsican names). The densest concentration of pumas in North America is found on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The island is separated from Sardinia by the Strait of Bonifacio. In Canada, pumas are found west of the prairies, in Alberta, British Columbia and the southern Yukon.

Corsica has 1,000km of coastline and more than 200 beaches, as well as being largely mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at 2706m and 50 other summits of more than 2000m. Hunted almost to extinction in the United States, the puma has made a dramatic comeback, with an estimated 30,000 individuals in the western United States. . When pumas are found and relocated to more "wild" parts of the state, they are put into competition with already existing cats. Corsica is famed as the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte. This is mostly due to human infringement, clashing with cities and other urban "advancements" or because of the loss of territories that urbanization brings. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea, politically Corsica is considered part of Metropolitan France. One of the only locations where the puma is in great danger is within the United States, mainly Florida and other parts of the East Coast.

Corsica is referred to as a "région" in common speech, and is almost always listed among the other régions of France. Even now, it has the widest range of any New World land animal, spanning 110 degrees of latitude, from the northern Yukon Territory (in Canada) to the southern Andes (on both the Chilean and Argentinian sides). As a territorial collectivity, it enjoys powers slightly more important than other French régions, but for the most part its status is quite similar to the status of the other French régions. Before the modern human population explosion in the Americas, the puma ranged across most of the Americas. Corsica is one of the 26 régions of France, although strictly speaking Corsica is called a "territorial collectivity" (collectivité territoriale) by law. Pumas have one of the largest ranges of any wild cat, holding competition with only the Eurasian Lynx, Wild Cat and greatly spread Leopard. It is located west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of the island of Sardinia. Hybrids between pumas and jaguars have been reported, but none have been proven.

Corsica (French: Corse; Corsican: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily, Sardinia, and Cyprus). Hybrids between a puma and an ocelot have also been bred. In spite of not being closely related to the pantherine big cats, hybrids between pumas and leopards have been bred and are called pumapards. Although a controversial move, the hybrids are more vigorous than pure Florida panthers and excessive inbreeding is averted. Hybrids between subspecies of puma have occurred where new blood has been introduced into the Florida panther.

Unfortunately it vanished into extinction as late as 1925. schorgeri). c. There once was a subspecies of puma in Wisconsin called the Wisconsin Cougar (F.