Puma, Panther, Mountain lion, Catamount
The cougar is a type of cat which is large and slender with a short coarse coat. Its color ranges from yellowish to grayish brown except for the belly, which is a paler color. The chest and throat are whitish. Their nose is pinkish, with a black border extending to the lips. There are black stripes on its muzzle, and the areas behind its ears and the tip of its tail are black. The eye color of the adults is grayish brown to golden. They have a long, cylindrical tail that measures about one-third of their total length. Their limbs are muscular and short, and they have broad feet, with five digits on the front feet and five on the back feet.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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ScavengerScavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While sc...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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Ambush predatorAmbush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Apex predatorAn apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain and has no natural predators. These animals usually occup...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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SolitaryC
starts with
The geographic range of the cougar is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, from Canadian Yukon through the US, Central, and South America to the southern tip of Chile. Cougars were extirpated from the eastern and central parts of North America within 200 years following European colonization, except for the remnant subpopulation in south Florida. Cougars live in a wide variety of environments including montane coniferous forests, grassland, swamps, lowland tropical forests, dry brush country, and any other areas that offer adequate cover and prey. They use dense vegetation, rocky crevices, and caves for shelter.
Cougars are solitary animals and keep away from other individuals except during mating. Males will keep together immediately after having left their mother, but hardly ever as older adults. They are primarily nocturnal. Although capable of sprinting, cougars are typically ambush predators. They stalk through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of their prey and a suffocating neck bite. The cougar is capable of breaking the neck of some of its smaller prey with a strong bite and momentum bearing the animal to the ground. The cat drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it with a brush, and returns to feed over a period of days. Cougars communicate through visual and olfactory signals, and males will often make scrapes in the snow or soil. The noises they make include hisses, growls, and bird-like whistles.
Cougars are carnivores that mainly eat large mammals, especially deer, and will also eat coyotes, beavers, porcupines, mice, marmots, raccoons, hares, birds, and sometimes grasshoppers. They will prey on domestic livestock, such as poultry, sheep, calves, goats, and pigs.
Cougars are polygamous. Mating can occur throughout the year, but in northern latitudes is mostly from December to March. Females tend to give birth every other year, to 1 – 6 kittens, following a gestation period of 90-96 days. They give birth in dens lined with vegetation or moss, usually within a protected place such as a rock shelter, pile of rocks, crevice, thicket, or caves. The kittens stay with their mothers until 1-2 years old. At about 40 days they are fully weaned. Females are sexual mature at about 2.5 years and males at about 3. They do not reproduce until after they have established a permanent home area.
Cougars are killed by sport hunters and also by farmers protecting their livestock. Habitat loss, poaching of their wild prey base, and car accidents are further threats, as well as capture for zoos.
The IUCN has estimated the cougar's total breeding population at fewer than 50,000. As of 1996, the Canadian population was roughly estimated at 3,500-5,000. US state-level statistics suggest that cougar populations have rebounded. A healthy population of 5,000 was reported in Oregon, in 2006, exceeding a 3,000 target. California may have between 4,000 and 6,000, this state actively seeking to protect the animal. As of 2013, Florida subspecies of cougar numbers only 160 animals in the wild. The population in Central and South America is likely much higher than in North America, although even rough estimates are unavailable. Overall, currently, cougars are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List; however, their numbers today are decreasing.
Cougars have importance as top predators within their ecosystems. They have a role in controlling large ungulate populations.
