By now, you've doubtless seen *that* viral mountain lion video. Mountain lions and panthers, both are very interesting carnivores of the Family: Felidae. [66], Texas is the only U.S. state with a viable cougar population that is not protected. [122][123], This uncertainty has been recognized by Canadian authorities. [90], As with any predator at or near the top of its food chain, the cougar impacts the population of prey species. Its wide distribution stems from its adaptability to virtually every habitat type; it lives in all forest types, as well as in lowland and mountainous deserts, as well as in open areas with little vegetation. Many high schools also use the cougar as their sports team mascot. While wild cougars usually have a 10-year lifespan at the most, those in zoos can live to 20 years or more. On March 29, a Canadian mother fought off a juvenile male mountain lion that was attacking her 7-year-old son outside her home, but that's not … Bobcat lives in Forest. Info: Human. The heavily populated state of California saw a dozen attacks 1986 to 2004 (after just three from 1890 to 1985), including three fatalities. Despite its size, the cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat, than to any species of subfamily Pantherinae, of which only the jaguar is extant in the Americas. [164], Large species of the family Felidae native to the Americas, "Mountain lion" redirects here. The Florida panther samples showed a low microsatellite variation, possibly due to inbreeding. [67] The Bay Area Puma Project aims to obtain information on cougar populations in the San Francisco Bay area and the animals' interactions with habitat, prey, humans, and residential communities. [130] Attacks on people, livestock, and pets may occur when a puma habituates to humans or is in a condition of severe starvation. [106] Hunting or relocation of the cougar may increase aggressive encounters by disrupting territories and bringing young, transient animals into conflict with established individuals. Their vast range has made them notoriously feared across various regions. All of these names are con… Taxonomic research on felids remains partial, and much of what is known about their evolutionary history is based on mitochondrial DNA analysis. [1] While specific state and provincial statistics are often available in North America, much less is known about the cat in its southern range. A lion pride consists of a few adult males, related females and cubs. [102], Although capable of sprinting, the cougar is typically an ambush predator. Mountain lions are solitary creatures, and outside of mating, adults rarely interact. A mountain lion pounced on a Colorado deputy who responded to a report of the animal attacking a civilian, dramatic video shows. [93][94], In the southern part of South America, the cougar is a top level predator that has controlled the population of guanaco and other species since prehistoric times. [31] Males generally weigh 53 to 100 kg (117 to 220 lb), averaging 68 kg (150 lb). [a] There were no bite marks on the victim, who had been herding goats. On one hand, the cats will sometimes attack livestock, and even humans. Other species taken include the bighorn and Dall's sheep, horses, fallow deer, caribou, mountain goat, coyote, American badger and pronghorn. [72] In Colorado and California, black bears were found to visit 48% and 77% of kills, respectively. They live in deserts, mountains, lowlands, mangrove forests, deciduous forests, canyons, prairies, and more. [13] Other names include "panther", "painter" and "catamount". [63], South of the Rio Grande, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the cat in every Central and South American country. [151] A cougar's killing bite is applied to the back of the neck, head, or throat and the cat inflicts puncture marks with its claws usually seen on the sides and underside of the prey, sometimes also shredding the prey as it holds on. Wolves and mountain lions share a lot of the same territory. Between one and four new individuals entering a population per decade markedly increases persistence, thus highlighting the importance of habitat corridors. [40] Compared to "big cats", cougars are often silent with minimal communication through vocalizations outside of the mother-offspring relationship. From Canada, populations of mountain lions live all the way to the tip of South America. The cougar is the second-largest cat in the New World after the jaguar. The mountain lion burst through the family's back gate, raccoon in his mouth, about 1:30 a.m. The lion is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females with a typical weight range of 150 to 250 kg (330 to 550 lb) for the former and 120 to 182 kg (265 to 400 lb) for the latter. Attacks on humans are very rare, as cougar prey recognition is a learned behavior and they do not generally recognize humans as prey. [1] Hunting it is prohibited in California, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, French Guiana, Suriname, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and most of Argentina. [111], Like almost all cats, the cougar is a mostly solitary animal. [154][155], Predation by cougars on dogs "is widespread, but occurs at low frequencies"[156], The grace and power of the cougar have been widely admired in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. This cat’s fur is tawny yellow, with patches of reddish or silver in some regions. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. [84] Although cougars can kill coyotes, the latter have been documented attempting to prey on cougar cubs. The color of Bobcat is greyish brown while Mountain Lion is Yellowish Orange. This is because zookeepers provide them with a reliable food source, and unlimited healthcare. One report describes a large pack of 7 to 11 wolves killing a female cougar and her kittens,[75] while in nearby Sun Valley, Idaho, a 2-year-old male cougar was found dead, apparently killed by wolf pack. Its range spans 110 degrees of latitude, from the northern Yukon Territory in Canada to the southern Andes. Mountain lions are solitary creatures, and outside of mating, adults rarely interact. Their range stretches from Canada all the way to South America. Some commonly targeted species include deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, horse, pronghorn, mountain goat, and caribou. Canadian Geographic reports large male territories of 150 to 1000 km2 (58 to 386 sq mi) with female ranges half that size. Mountain lions are kings of adaptability. There are no jaguars in the area; other felids were too small to kill humans. [147], Fatal attacks by other carnivores such as feral dogs can be misattributed to pumas without appropriate forensic knowledge. [114], Home range sizes and overall cougar abundance depend on terrain, vegetation, and prey abundance. The University of Vermont also uses the mascot, but uses the term "catamount" instead of cougar, as was traditional in the region where the school is located. [129] Children are at greatest risk of attack, and least likely to survive an encounter. The distribution and other characteristics are also important to distinguish them separately. [33] Establishing wildlife corridors and protecting sufficient range areas are critical for the sustainability of cougar populations. Packs of wolves can steal cougars' kills, and there are some documented cases of cougars being killed by them. They can stand up to 35 in. Who would have won? Front paw print of a cougar. [1] US state-level statistics are often more optimistic, suggesting cougar populations have rebounded. [129][25], When cougars do attack, they usually employ their characteristic neck bite, attempting to position their teeth between the vertebrae and into the spinal cord. Whether born to a female puma mated to a male leopard or to a male puma mated to a female leopard, pumapards inherit a form of dwarfism. The word cougar is borrowed from the Portuguese çuçuarana, via French; it was originally derived from the Tupi language. It also hunts species as small as insects and rodents. [100] Other listed prey species of the cougar include mice, porcupines, beavers, raccoons, hares, guanaco, peccary, vicuna, rhea, and wild turkey. [33] Cougars may live as long as 20 years in captivity. [51] The only unequivocally known eastern population is the critically endangered Florida panther. "[110], Life expectancy in the wild is reported at eight to 13 years, and probably averages eight to 10; a female of at least 18 years was reported killed by hunters on Vancouver Island. The Carolina Panthers of the National Football League have a black cat on their uniforms as opposed to a brownish- or tawny-coloured cat so it is most often presumed to represent a black panther, the black melanistic phase of either the jaguar, which actually only lived in the far southwestern United States not the southeastern United States where Carolina is located, or the leopard of Africa and Asia. It has five retractable claws on its forepaws (one a dewclaw) and four on its hind paws. [68], It is speculated and believed by many that cougars from the western U.S. are recolonizing the eastern cougar's former range in the northeastern United States, and there is growing evidence that supports this claim, indicating a small but growing population of western cougars in the northeastern states, mostly cougars migrating from the midwestern United States, though possibly also from Canada. [99], In the Central and South American cougar range, the ratio of deer in the diet declines. The human cannot run, as he would be mauled. The cougar (Puma concolor) is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMDQsIkQezg In most cases, the wolverine will win. [14][15] Early Spanish explorers of the Americas called it gato montés (meaning "cat of the mountain"), and león (meaning "lion"). In this instance, however, Moreno had been wearing a guanaco-hide poncho round his neck and head as protection against the cold;[144] in Patagonia the guanaco is the puma's chief prey animal. [136][137], Research on new wildlife collars may be able to reduce human-animal conflicts by predicting when and where predatory animals hunt. [149][150] In Nevada in 1992, cougars were confirmed to have killed nine calves, one horse, four foals, five goats, 318 sheep, and 400 lambs. By contrast, Wildcat Lager Beer brewed by Labatt, has always shown a picture of a cougar on its label. Scrape marks, urine, and feces are used to mark territory and attract mates. The mean weight of vertebrate prey (MWVP) that pumas attack increases with the puma's body weight; in general, MWVP is lower in areas closer to the equator. Oregon's first fatal cougar attack in the wild claims hiker near Mount Hood, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cougar&oldid=991818300, Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands, Extant Middle Pleistocene first appearances, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Cougar range (without recent confirmations across northern Canadian states and Alaska), This page was last edited on 1 December 2020, at 23:59. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America, and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. The cougar cannot be legally killed without a permit in California except under very specific circumstances, such as when a cougar is in act of pursuing livestock or domestic animals, or is declared a threat to public safety. Unlike several subordinate predators from other ecosystems, cougars do not appear to take advantage of spatial or temporal refuges to avoid their competitors. In particular, the North American cougar is considered to have been mostly extirpated in eastern North America (the population referred to as the eastern cougar) in the beginning of the 20th century, except for the isolated Florida panther subpopulation. [119][120] In 2003, the documented count for the Florida sub-population was 87 individuals. An average bengal tiger can scratch down to tore up the African lion easily, then what is PUMA or Mountain lion which also do not graduate as big cat. The coat is typically tawny like that of the lion, which is why it was initially called the "mountain lion",[33] but it otherwise ranges from silvery-grey or reddish with lighter patches on the underbody, including the jaws, chin, and throat. Comparison of strength: A jaguar can leap upto 10 feet in the air. Across this range they are both respected, and feared. [37], Depending on the locality, cougars can be smaller or bigger than jaguars, but are less muscular and not as powerfully built so their weight is on average less. International Union for Conservation of Nature, urinate on it as a way of marking territory, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, List of fatal cougar attacks in North America, "Use of open, edge and forest areas by pumas Puma concolor in winter: are pumas foraging optimally? 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. Mountain Lion vs Puma . [35] Its most important prey species are various deer species, particularly in North America; mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and even bull moose are taken. Chronic stress can result in low reproductive rates when in captivity as well as in the field. Males may scrape together a small pile of leaves and grasses and then urinate on it as a way of marking territory. There have sometimes been incidents of pet cougars mauling people. You never know what you will see in the mountains. [35] Cougars appear better than jaguars at exploiting a broader prey niche and smaller prey. Clothing: Grey T-Shirt, Tan Khakis, Grey Sneakers. The cheetah lineage is suggested by some studies to have diverged from the Puma lineage in the Americas and migrated back to Asia and Africa,[19][20] while other research suggests the cheetah diverged in the Old World itself. Additionally, they receive rabbits, large bones, and parts of carcasses. Cougars have a tan/ brown/ black fur. In some regions they considered the cat a harbinger of death, while in others they regarded it as a deity or sacred animal. The Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League use the name/image of the southeastern United States cougar subspecies, the Florida panther (the state animal), as its mascot. [41] Cougars sometimes voice low-pitched hisses, growls, and purrs, as well as chirps and whistles, many of which are comparable to those of domestic cats. Though they are powerful predators, they are also an intriguing and important species. There have been widely debated reports of possible recolonization of eastern North America. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Animals.NET aim to promote interest in nature and animals among children, as well as raise their awareness in conservation and environmental protection. [110] Research has shown cougar abundances from 0.5 animals to as much as 7 (in one study in South America) per 100 km2 (38 sq mi). She wants blood. [47], The cougar was extirpated across most of its eastern North American range (with a notable exception of Florida) in the two centuries after European colonization, and faced grave threats elsewhere. [33] Females are in estrus for about 8 days of a 23-day cycle; the gestation period is approximately 91 days. Which is more powerful Cougar or Jaguar? Notwithstanding numerous reported sightings in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, it has been said that the evidence is inconclusive as "there may not be a distinct 'eastern' subspecies, and some sightings may be of escaped pets. [84] Another study on winter kills (November–April) in Alberta showed that ungulates accounted for greater than 99% of the cougar diet. Only the Florida panther showed variation, often preferring feral hogs and armadillos. Male mountain lions are larger and have bigger paws and longer strides than females. [42], Cougar coloring is plain (hence the Latin concolor) but can vary greatly across individuals and even siblings. Part of the reason they have such a wide range is because of their ability to adapt to different habitats. A pumapard is a hybrid animal resulting from a union between a puma and a leopard. Males also have a black spot of hair 4 to 5 inches below its … Small to mid-sized mammals are preferred, including large rodents such as the capybara. For example, a study in British Columbia observed that the population of mule deer, a favored cougar prey, was declining while the population of the less frequently preyed-upon white-tailed deer was increasing. Early Spanish explorers of North and South America called it leon (lion) and gato monte (cat of the mountain), from which we get the name \"mountain lion.\" Puma is the name the Incas gave this cat in their language. Conversely, Mountain Lion lives in Dry areas. [153] This effect is attributed to the removal of older pumas that have learned to avoid people and their replacement by younger males that react differently to humans. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people. [2] The cougar is most closely related to the jaguarundi, as well as the modern cheetah of Africa and western Asia. DNA tests were consistent with cougars from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan", "Puma concolor – Mountain Lion – Discover Life", "Jaguar Attack on a Child: Case Report and Literature Review", "Food habits of jaguars and pumas in Jalisco, Mexico", "Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (, "Quantifying the influence of topographic position on cougar (, "Your part in helping endangered species", "Photo shows cougar presence in Michigan", "Cedar Rapids man shoots mountain lion in Iowa County", "Sightings show cougars expanding into central US", "Mountain Lion Confirmed in Rural Greene County", "Mountain lion reportedly spotted roaming Connecticut town", "Mountain Lion killed by car on Connecticut highway", "Jury's still out, but Pike County cougar sighting could be state's third in two months", "First cougar seen in Kentucky since Civil War is killed", Investigación midió por primera vez población de pumas en zona central, "Are there Mountain Lions in Massachusetts? Also referred to as cougar, puma, catamount and panther, mountain lions thrive in many habitats. [134], As with many predators, a cougar may attack if cornered, if a fleeing human stimulates their instinct to chase, or if a person "plays dead". [98], In Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, scat samples showed raccoons to make up 28% of the cougar's diet, harbor seals and blacktail deer 24% each, North American river otters 10%, California sea lion 7%, and American mink 4%; the remaining 3% were unidentified. These widespread cats have one of the largest ranges of any terrestrial animal in North and South America. Cuguacu ara was then adopted by John Ray in 1693. The first use of puma in English dates to 1777, introduced from Spanish, and prior from the Quechua language in the 16th century, where it means "powerful". [35], In Patagonia's Monte León National Park, the local cougar population has specialized on hunting penguins. [135] Exaggerating the threat to the animal through intense eye contact, loud shouting, and any other action to appear larger and more menacing, may make the animal retreat. These felines are quite large. [39], The cougar is on average larger than all felid species apart from the lion, tiger, and jaguar. [32][31][33][34] Cougar size is smallest close to the equator and larger towards the poles. [53] Typically, extreme-range sightings of cougars involve young males, which can travel great distances to establish ranges away from established males. Only mothers and kittens live in groups, with adults meeting rarely. In both reports, sheep were the most frequently attacked. [73][74], The gray wolf and the cougar compete more directly for prey, mostly in winter. [25], Between 1890 and 1990, in North America there were 53 reported, confirmed attacks on humans, resulting in 48 nonfatal injuries and 10 deaths of humans (the total is greater than 53 because some attacks had more than one victim). [20] but the relationship is unresolved. Zoos have commercially available ground meat, which provides all the vitamins and nutrients needed for survival. Ranges of females may overlap slightly with each other. [133] Lightly populated New Mexico reported an attack in 2008, the first there since 1974. This finding indicates that cougar and the parasite existed in South America since at least the Late Pleistocene. When they are born, the kittens are blind and helpless. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. Where a juvenile fails to leave his maternal range, for example, he may be killed by his father. The first confirmed sighting in a century was made on September 20, 2015, in Obion county in the north-western corner of West Tennessee. Preliminary research in Yellowstone, for instance, has shown displacement of the cougar by wolves. [131] By 2004, the count had climbed to 88 attacks and 20 deaths. The coat is variously described as sandy, tawny or greyish with brown, chestnut or "faded" rosettes. In a 2013 study the most important predictor of puma problems were remedial hunting of puma the previous year.
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