Range Maps: Where Jaguars, Leopards, Cougars and Florida Panthers Actually Live
Current distribution and historical range loss for all four of the animals commonly called "panther." Data sourced from IUCN Red List range polygons (2020-2023) and USFWS critical habitat designations. Last verified April 2026.
Jaguar
Panthera onca
Current Range
Northern Mexico south through Central America to northern Argentina. 18 countries. Core stronghold: Amazon Basin. Extirpated from US (occasional dispersing males only).
Lost Range (Historic)
Extended north through Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, and possibly the Southeast US. Range contracted ~50% from historic extent.
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Current Range
Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of North Africa (fragmented), Middle East, South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia). Largest range of any big cat.
Lost Range (Historic)
Previously ranged from western Africa across the Middle East, Central Asia, India, China, to Korea and the Russian Far East. Now extirpated from North Africa, most of the Middle East, and large parts of Asia.
Cougar (Mountain Lion / Puma)
Puma concolor
Current Range
Yukon and British Columbia south through the western US and into Florida (as P. c. coryi), through Central America to Patagonia. Largest latitudinal range of any wild land mammal in the Western Hemisphere.
Lost Range (Historic)
Previously ranged across all of North America east of the Mississippi. Eastern cougar (P. c. couguar) was officially declared extinct by USFWS in 2018. Florida panther (P. c. coryi) is the sole surviving eastern population.
Florida Panther
Puma concolor coryi
Current Range
South Florida only: Collier County, Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and adjacent private lands. Total current range approximately 5,000 square kilometres.
Lost Range (Historic)
Historically ranged across the entire southeastern US: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas, and Virginia. Pre-1900 range essentially the entire US Southeast.
Range Overlap and Interactions
Jaguar and Cougar: Overlapping in the Americas
Jaguar and cougar ranges overlap extensively in Central America (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia) and parts of South America. Where they co-occur, jaguars tend to dominate prime lowland rainforest and riparian habitat; cougars occupy more varied terrain including upland forest and open areas. GPS collar studies in Costa Rica and Brazil show that the two species use overlapping home ranges but at different heights and microhabitats - a form of niche partitioning. Jaguars occasionally steal cougar kills (kleptoparasitism).
Leopard and Cougar: Never Overlap
Leopard range (Africa, Middle East, Asia) and cougar range (Americas) have zero geographic overlap. The two species have never coexisted in the wild in recorded history.
Eastern Cougar: Declared Extinct 2018
USFWS officially declared the eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar) extinct in 2018 after an extensive review. The Florida panther (P. c. coryi) is the sole surviving member of the eastern North American cougar lineage, restricted to South Florida. Any cougar sightings east of the Mississippi (other than Florida) are either escaped captive animals or individuals dispersing from western populations - not evidence of a surviving eastern population.