Hunted almost to extinction over the past three centuries, cougars are making a comeback today, with some 30,000 living in the wilds of North and South America.

Cougar attacks are on the rise in North America. Such ambushes are an increasing fact of life in cougar country, which stretches across a large swath of western North America.

It was perhaps the saddest photograph Brian Call had ever taken. But it may help the Florida panther reach a happy ending in its struggle for survival.

View additional resources, online and in print, for NATURE's "Trail of the Cougar."

View the production credits for NATURE's " Trail of the Cougar."