Let’s talk about the Cougar!
#Caturdays
The cat with many names.
Did you know that the Puma concolor holds the Guinness world record for the animal with the greatest number of names? With over 40 names in English alone, this cool cat, colloquially known as the cougar, puma, panther, or mountain lion, is an adaptable species found in the Americas. It is the second heaviest cat in the Western Hemisphere, after the Jaguar.
Where can you find these guys?
The Cougar is commonly found in the Americas.
So what’s to know about this feline friend?
These cats are big and slender.
Weighing in from anywhere between 64 to 220 pounds (29 to 100 kg), and running from around 4'11" to 9' (1.5 to 2.75 m) long, these cats are nocturnal ambushers that can grow to be as large as jaguars:
- Cougar coloring is plain (hence the Latin concolor) but can vary greatly between individuals and even between siblings. The coat is typically tawny, but ranges to silvery-grey or reddish, with lighter patches on the underbody, including the jaws, chin, and throat.
- Cougars have large paws. Their hind legs are, proportionally, the largest hind legs in the cat family.
- Though capable of sprinting, the cougar is typically an ambush predator. It stalks through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of its 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.
- Puma concolor’s most important prey species are various deer species, particularly in North America; mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and even bull moose are taken.
- Cougars will drag a kill to a preferred spot, cover it with underbrush, and return to feed over a number of days. The cougar is generally reported to not be a scavenger, rarely consuming prey it has not killed.
- Females reach sexual maturity between one-and-a-half to three years of age. They typically average one litter every two to three years throughout their reproductive lives.
Look to the Americas for this cat!
Puma concolor has the largest range of any wild land animal in the Americas, spanning 110 degrees of latitude, from northern Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes.
According to the Wikipedia page:
Its wide distribution stems from its adaptability to virtually every habitat type: it is found in all forest types, as well as in lowland and mountainous deserts. The cougar prefers regions with dense underbrush, but can live with little vegetation in open areas. Its preferred habitats include precipitous canyons, escarpments, rim rocks, and dense brush…
Alright, alright:
Here’s some more pictures.
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