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Grace Hochstatter, Michelle Gant
J412 Final Research Paper
Portrayal of Cougars in Mass Media:
An Argument for Giving Voice to a Voiceless Species
The North American cougar, known also as mountain lion, puma, and panther, is the
largest cat native to the Western hemisphere. The cougar is an incredibly territorial animal,
highly adaptable to nearly any terrain—from swamplands to mountainous regions.
With
increases in urbanization and population, much of the cougar population has been eradicated
from regions in North America. Cougars are interacting with humans now more than ever. As
predator regulators, cougars are vital to the health of an ecosystem, yet hunting and catching
mountain lions are accepted practices. In nearly all media outlets, the cougar is portrayed as a
one-dimensional entity, a bloodthirsty killer out to slaughter both livestock and human alike. The
lack of compassion and understanding of this animal has lead much of society to dub the cougar
an animal to be hunted, not protected. Packwood Freeman et al., in an article entitled Giving
Voice to the “Voiceless” argue that because the news is produced to educate and inform society,
news media also has the responsibility to include all perspectives, even those of non-human
animals (NHAs). In declaring dedication to fairness, truth and giving “voice to the voiceless”,
the Society of Professional Journalists, claim Packwood Freeman et al., must include effects of
actions on NHAs, not just human and economic impacts. While conducting our research
analyzing cougar representation in various news articles, we wanted to know whether the cougar
was truly an animal misrepresented by the press. Does the media express a variety of stories
about the multi-faceted nature of the cougar? Through the lens of the press, is the cougar both a
skilled predator and a sentient animal? Do news stories sympathize with mountain lions or
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include cougar perspectives? The cougar we found in the news media was a sensationalized
predator—deadly and often anthropomorphized. In all its various outlets, news media have failed
to recognize the sentience of the American wild cat, portraying it instead as only 'beast' and
'predator'. The cougar's depiction in mass media serves as further ammunition for the argument
of incorporating nonhuman animal perceptions in journalistic works, as it is yet another instance
of the 'voiceless' being ignored in a process claiming to be both fair and truthful.
In this day and age, the media looks for a “news hook1” to retain readers and viewership.
When it comes to news stories about human-animal interactions, this hook tends to be framed as
a tragic and dramatic struggle between the human and nonhuman world2. This plotline certainly
held true with the media’s presentation of the cougar. Every story found, in both print and video
format, made the cougar out to be predatory and deadly—exacerbating fear of these non-human
animals by portraying only one side of its existence. Cohen and Richardson, in their study of
human understanding of pit bulls, commented, “the deviant incident of beast attacking man has
fascinated and horrified people for millennia3”.
We can see the same violent relationship
between human and cougar framed by the press. In an ABC online news video entitled Cougar
Attacks! a morning anchor describes an interaction between man and cougar on a campsite in the
hills of Wyoming. The anchor begins the video segment by saying, the man, “…saw the beast
staring at him through the brush and then it charged…4”. This imagery paints a very onedimensional picture, as the cougar seems to direct its predatory gaze at the innocent human and
the NHA’s elemental nature as a ‘beast’ propels the animal forward to kill mercilessly. Despite
its length of three minutes, the video never discusses the role the human played in creating this
1
Boykoff, Maxwell T. 2009.
Boykoff, Maxwell T. 2009.
3
Cohen and Richardson. 2002.
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"Mountain Lion Attacks!" 2012.
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interaction. The cougar, a very territorial animal, found the human in its home, not vice versa.
The news failed to recognize that humans might infiltrate cougar territory just as must as cougars
pop up in human neighborhoods. In all instances, whether in its own ecosystem or found in a
building’s courtyard5, cougars became the ‘perfect predators’ in the eyes of the media—yet
another animal to fuel the man-beast fascination and support the Packwood Freeman call to bring
voice to the non-human voiceless.
On top of presenting a framework of cougar-as-predator, the media works against
conservation and awareness efforts by sensationalizing cougar behavior and interactions. In an
ABC online news video, an ABC news anchor questioned a man named Dustin Britton on his
interaction with a cougar while camping. The anchor introduced the story by stating, “the exmarine was alone cutting wood about 100 feet from his campsite when he spotted the beast.6”
The anchor sets the stage, making an unsuspecting hero out of the ‘ex-marine’ and framing the
cougar as a sneaky predator. The story later goes into detail about the Mr. Briton’s use of a
chainsaw to fend off the animal. The viewer watches as the anchor poses questions that
sensationalize the interaction, with chain saw whirring and cougar growling. Where was the
voice of the cougar in this segment? An Animal Planet featured the cougar on its Nature’s
Perfect Predator Series acts similarly to the ABC clip, making a cougar into a terrifying creature
with special effects, sharp imagery, and intense music. The segment hails the cougar as a
specialized predator, recognizing the cougar’s predatory skills, noting the animal as ‘built for
killing’ with its razor claws and its “violent power7”. The segment fails to recognize the NHA’s
sentience, its ability to care for its young, to feel various emotions, and how humanity may be
negatively impacting the species. Even in rare instances of animal protection stories, the media,
5
"Some Outraged over Killing of Mountain Lion in Santa Monica." 2012.
"Mountain Lion Attacks!" 2012.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iH1lFNSUOA
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while occasionally coming from an environmental viewpoint, is just as likely to adopt a
sensationalist tone in animal portrayal. According to Boykoff, media “articulations…take on
varied roles over time, from watchdog to lapdog to guard dog. 8” The sensationalizing of cougars
in the media is yet another reason why journalists and news media outlets must form a better way
to express the concerns of NHAs—without the positive awareness that can be brought about by
media coverage, cougars and other species don’t stand a change to be recognized as the complex
beings they are.
The media possesses incredible power of influence and the ability to create conversation.
According to Karen Dawn in her article, Moving the Media, “the media shape the way our
society views all issues—including the appropriate treatment of members of other species. They
are incomparably powerful, and the animals need powerful friends.9”
News sources seem to continuously support a utilitarian stance towards animals. In the case of
the cougar, serving no service deemed useful to humans, never receive the balanced spotlight
they deserve. __ Jones in a 1996 study found that supportive media coverage of pro-animal
issues positively correlated with the creation and passage of humane legislation and animal
initiatives10. A media that no longer supports the status quo or a utilitarian approach to the world
could represent all sentient beings and could modify and maintain “a shared culture of reality11.”
Possessing the ability to encourage what and how people, the media, in giving voice to the
voiceless non-human animals, could reframe the world’s outlook towards all animals and
encourage a preservation movement of grand proportions.
8
Boykoff, Maxwell T. 2009.
Dawn, Karen. 196.
10
Jones 1996.
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Carey. 1989.
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As we have noted, in order for this reframing to occur, journalists and media sources
must recognize, “…NHAs as a legitimate news source whose perspective and interests deserve a
voice in stories that affect their lives12.” Media networks, “must recognize the shared collective
burden we have as humans inextricably linked to the ecosystem where we live13.” According to
Packwood Freeman et al, “journalism can escape the limitations of its humanist bias and produce
news that questions society’s inherent speciesism so that status quo and time-worn values…no
longer masquerade as ‘‘objectivity.’14”
In this day and age, our research has found that humans remain the privileged species in
the news—never at fault, nearly always heroic and rational in dealings with ‘wild animals. With
a commitment to truth and justice, the field of journalism can recognize other species and
represent them fairly by portraying them as feeling and thinking entities, very similar to humans.
Before conducting our research on the portrayal of cougars and mountain lions in the media, we
had not given a lot of thought to animal representation and presentation in various sources of
media. After reading a myriad of news articles covering things from cougar rescue to mountain
lion attacks, we now realize media, more often than not, anthropomorphize cougars into
creatures that kill, are ruthless and elemental. The media seems to always favor the human's
side, making it seem somehow right that the cougar be "punished". Nearly all articles found on
cougars in the news discussed cougar sittings or attacks. These articles rarely tried to find an
explanation for the cougars approaching humans and never hinted in the slightest that humans
may be responsible for the increased sightings of these wild cats. Our research has led us to
believe that journalism has a long way to go in representing non-human beings. While articles
and videos about wildcat conservation had a web presence, they were far outnumbered by
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Freeman, C.P. & Jarvis, J. 2011.
Freeman, C.P. & Jarvis, J. 2011.
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Packwood Freeman et al. 2011.
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articles of 'attacks', articles that portrayed cougars as wild "beasts". For a profession that claims
objectivity and fairness in reporting, journalism certainly hasn't been objective, fair, or kind to
the cougars of North America.
Works Sited:
Boykoff, Maxwell T. "We Speak for the Trees: Media Reporting on the Environment."Annual
Review of Environment and Resources 34.1 (2009): 431-57. Print.
Carey, James W. 1989. A Cultural Approach to Communication. In Communication as Culture:
Essays on Media and Society, ed. James W. Carey, 13-35. London: Unwin-Hyman.
Cohen, Judy, and John Richardson. 2002. Pit Bull Panic. Journal of Popular Culture 36, no. 2
(Fall): 285-317.
Freeman, C.P. & Jarvis, J. (in press 2011). Consuming Nature: The Cultural Politics of Animals
and the Environment in the Mass Media. In M. Bekoff & S. Bexell (Eds). Ignoring Nature:
Animal Losses and What We Must Do About Them -- Now. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Freeman, Carrie Packwood, Marc Bekoff, and Sarah M. Bexell. "Giving Voice To The
“Voiceless”." Journalism Studies 12.5 (2011): 590-607. Print.
Jones, Dena M. (1996) ‘‘American Media Coverage of Animal Protection’’, Anthrozoos 9(2/3),
72-80.
"Animal Facts - Cougar." Animal Facts - Cougar. Web. 09 June 2012.
<http://www.visitthefarm.com/animalfacts/cougar.php>.
"Cougar Reluctant to Leave Trap near Arlington." The Seattle Times. 24 May 2012. Web. 09
June 2012.
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018277288_apwareluctantcougar.html>.
"Cougar Sighting Puts School in Lockdown." Snoqualmie, WA. Web. 09 June 2012.
<http://snovalleystar.com/2012/05/24/cougar-sighting-puts-school-in-lockdown>.
"Some Outraged over Killing of Mountain Lion in Santa Monica." L.A. Times. Web. 09 June
2012. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/some-community-members-outragedthat-police-killed-mountain-lion.html>.
"Mountain Lion Attacks!" ABC News. ABC News Network. Web. 09 June 2012.
<http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video?id=8116908>.
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"Mountain Lion Naps in Backyard Tree." Firstcoastnews.com. Web. 09 June 2012.
<http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=258780>.
"Warrenton residents warned about cougar sightings." Seaside Signal. Web. 09 June 2012.
<http://www.seasidesignal.com/news/article_dc60f750-ab3c-11e1-bc62-001a4bcf887a.html>.
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