Cougars can occupy a wide variety of environments such as Florida's swamps, the Southwest's deserts, and the Pacific Northwest's damp forests. However, cougars
Cougar
The cougar, also commonly known by other names including mountain lion, panther, puma, and catamount, is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the widest of any large wild terrestria…
Which areas are good cougar habitat?
Cougars can survive in tropical forests, swamps, grasslands, mountain conifer forests, desert scrub, and any location with adequate cover and prey. Cougars prefer dense forests, coastal swamps, rocky cliffs, and mountain ranges as their habitat, and tend to avoid areas that are open, lack adequate vegetation and stalk cover.
What states have Cougars in them?
Cougars once roamed throughout most of the contiguous forty-eight United States. Yet efforts to exterminate cougars, wolves, and other predators that began with European colonization and continued as late as the 1960s resulted in the virtual elimination of cougars from the eastern two-thirds of the United States.
What kind of habitat does a cougar live in?
They thrive in habitats across the cold woods of Canada, the rainforests of Brazil, the western country of the United States and the vast grassy plains (pampas) of Argentina. Cougars can survive in tropical forests, swamps, grasslands, mountain conifer forests, desert scrub, and any location with adequate cover and prey.
What animals do Cougars eat?
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Why do cougars live in different habitats?
To support the point that the animals adapt to different conditions, the author says, “Cougars that live in northern mountains tend to have a thick coat of fur, have learned to climb trees, and can swim if necessary.” It says on page 296 that they have adapted to live in snow-capped mountains, jungles thick with ...
What is a mountain lion ecosystem?
Mountain lions inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, making their home anywhere there is shelter and prey, including mountains, forests, deserts, and wetlands. They are territorial and have naturally low population densities, which means the species requires large swaths of wilderness habitat to thrive.
Where do cougars live in the world?
Where they live: Other than humans, cougars are the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Cougars range from northwestern Canada to Patagonia, South America. Click on a range map to see where cougars live in Washington and California.
What is the cougars role in the ecosystem?
The source of the cougar's influence lies in its relationship to its prey, particularly the deer, elk, and other herbivores that constitute its primary sources of food. By preying on deer and elk, for instance, cougars help prevent their populations from becoming larger than their habitat can support.
Do lions purr?
In big cats—lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars—a length of tough cartilage runs up the hyoid bones to the skull. This feature prevents purring but also gives the larynx enough flexibility to produce a full- throated roar—114 decibels' worth in the case of one lion tested.
Can mountain lions be black?
Many people have heard the term “black panther,” but these are actually melanistic jaguars or leopards: a genetic trait that makes an individual cat's fur appear much darker than the usual coloration. To date there has never been a confirmed case of a melanistic (black) mountain lion.
Can you eat mountain lion?
Mountain lion has a mild taste, and it's meaty and dense, much like pork loin. Because of its bland flavor, it can absorb any seasoning quite well. You can use the same herbs and spices for chicken, pork, and beef.
What animal eats a cougar?
The cougar (otherwise called the cat by many names) has no natural predators. Therefore, these mountain lions face no threat of being eaten by any other animals. Grizzly bears along with grey wolves, on the other hand, compete with them for resources and may come into conflict as a result.
Do cougars live in the jungle?
An incredibly adaptable animal, it is found in almost every type of habitat. That includes forests, high mountains, deserts – and even urban jungles. More related content: Spectacular pumas of Patagonia.
What is an indicator species in an ecosystem?
An indicator species is an organism—bacteria, plant, or animal—that reflects the condition of the environment around it. They're often the first in their ecosystem to be affected by a particular environmental change, such as a warming climate, pollution, human development, and other environmental degradation.
Do mountain lions live in grasslands?
Mountain lions can be found in a variety of habitats including co- niferous forests, wooded swamps, tropical forests, open grasslands, chaparral, brushland and desert edges. They seem to prefer rough, rocky, semi-open areas.
How many cougars are left in the world?
It is estimated that less than 50,000 mature breeding mountain lions remain globally. The IUCN lists the mountain lion as Near Threatened, and the Florida subspecies as Critically Endangered.
Why is mountain lion is important in the food chain?
At the top of the food chain, mountain lions help establish a stable ecosystem which creates a trickle-down effect; their prey can also affect them by exposing them to pathogens and toxins.
How do mountain lions adapt to their environment?
The physical adaptations that make mountain lions successful predators include powerful jaws that can crush a prey's neck in one bite, sharp teeth, retractable claws between toe pads to muffle sound as cats stalk, excellent day and night vision, and excellent depth perception so they can attack with accuracy.
Why are mountain lions a keystone species?
Mountain lions fill an important niche in the park. As a keystone species, they regulate populations of prey animals, such as deer and raccoons, and influence the movements of other predators, such as coyotes and bears.
What animals eat mountain lions?
Predators of Mountain Lions include humans and grizzly bears.
How big are cougars compared to jaguars?
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. Whereas cougars tend to be larger as distance increases from the equator, which crosses the northern portion of South America, jaguars are simply generally smaller north of the Amazon River in South America and larger south of it. For example, while South American jaguars are comparatively large, and may exceed 90 kg (200 lb), North American jaguars in Mexico's Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve weigh approximately 50 kg (110 lb), about the same as female cougars. The cougar is, on average, larger than all other extant felid species, aside from the lion, tiger, and jaguar. Despite its size, it is not typically classified among the " big cats " because it cannot roar, lacking the specialized larynx and hyoid apparatus of Panthera.
What is the scientific name for a cougar?
Felis concolor was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 for a cat with a long tail from Brasilia. The second half of the name, "concolor" is Latin for "of uniform color". It was placed in the genus Puma by William Jardine in 1834. This genus is part of the Felinae. The cougar is most closely related to the jaguarundi and the cheetah.
What is the animal with the most names?
Early Spanish explorers of the Americas called it gato montés (meaning "cat of the mountain"), and león (meaning "lion"). The cougar holds the Guinness record for the animal with the greatest number of names, with over 40 in English alone.
What is the second largest cat in the world?
Due to its wide range, it has many names, including mountain lion, puma, catamount, panther and painter . The cougar is the second-largest cat in the New World after the jaguar ( Panthera onca ).
Why do cougars attack?
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 ". Standing still may cause the cougar to consider a person easy prey. 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. Fighting back with sticks and rocks, or even bare hands, is often effective in persuading an attacking cougar to disengage.
How big are cougars?
They are the fourth largest cat species worldwide; adults stand about 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulders. Adult males are around 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) long from nose to tail tip, and females average 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in), with overall ranges between 1.50 to 2.75 m (4 ft 11 in to 9 ft 0 in) nose to tail suggested for the species in general. Of this length, the tail typically accounts for 63 to 95 cm (25 to 37 in). Males generally weigh 53 to 100 kg (117 to 220 lb), averaging 68 kg (150 lb). Females typically weigh between 29 and 64 kg (64 and 141 lb), averaging 55 kg (121 lb). Cougar size is smallest close to the equator and larger towards the poles. The largest recorded cougar, shot in 1901, weighed 105.2 kg (232 lb); claims of 125.2 kg (276 lb) and 118 kg (260 lb) have been reported, though they were most likely exaggerated. On average, adult male cougars in British Columbia weigh 56.7 kg (125 lb) and adult females 45.4 kg (100 lb), though several male cougars in British Columbia weighed between 86.4 and 95.5 kg (190 and 211 lb).
Why are cougars endangered in Florida?
The cougar is threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and depletion of its prey base due to po aching. In Florida, it is threatened by heavy traffic, which causes frequent fatal accidents involving cougars. Highways are a major barrier for dispersal of cougars.
How long do cougars eat?
A cougar eats until full, then caches the carcass for later meals. Cougars spend an average of 3–4 days consuming an elk or deer and 4–5 days hunting for the next meal. Cougars catch other animals—including red squirrels, porcupines, marmots, grouse, and moose—if the opportunity arises.
Why are cougars dying?
While disease and starvation are occasional causes of cougar deaths, competition with other cougars or predators, and human hunting (during legal seasons outside protected areas), are the main causes of cougar mortality. Habitat fragmentation and loss are the main long-term threats to cougar populations across the western United States.
How many pounds do cougars gain?
Female cougars den in a secure area with ample rock and/or vegetative cover. Kittens are about one pound at birth and gain about one pound per week for the first 8–10 weeks. During this time, they remain at the den while the mother makes short hunting trips and then returns to nurse her kittens.
When do cougars breed?
Although cougars may breed and have kittens at any time of year, most populations have a peak breeding and birthing season. In Yellowstone, males and females breed primarily from February through May. Males and females without kittens search for one another by moving throughout their home ranges and communicating through visual and scent markers called scrapes. A female’s scrape conveys her reproductive status. A male’s scrape advertises his presence to females and warns other males that an area is occupied. After breeding, the males leave the female.
What animals can kill cougars?
Even though a cached carcass is harder to detect, scavengers and competitors such as bears and wolves sometimes find it. In Yellowstone, black and grizzly bears will take over a cougar’s kill. Coyotes will try, but can be killed by the cougar instead. Wolves displace cougars from approximately 6% of their elk carcasses.
What do cougars eat?
In Yellowstone, cougars prey upon elk (mostly calves ) and deer. They stalk the animal then attack, aiming for the animal’s back and killing it with a bite to the base of the skull or the throat area.
When was the first cougar study conducted?
From 1987 to 1996 , the first cougar ecology study was conducted in Yellowstone National Park. The research documented population dynamics of cougars in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem inside and outside the park boundary, determined home ranges and habitat requirements, and assessed the role of cougars as a predator.
How Large Is The Territory Of A Cougar?
Cougars hunt over large areas, so a permanent den is not needed as with some mammals.
Do Cougars Have A Den?
Cougars are unlike jaguars and bobcats, as they do not have a fixed den. However, females will use a den to rear their young. Females will use their entire range until they have kittens.
Why Has The Cougars Range Declined?
As all animals do, the cougar needs enough food to survive, but the decline of their food sources is not the only reason the range of the cougar has declined.
Why Are Cougars Seen Outside Of Their Natural Range?
Cougars can be found at the borders of their normal range, with people in the Yukon sighting cougars for decades. This can be attributed to many mule deer being in the area.
How many cougars are there in Idaho?
There was approximately one adult cougar per 35 sq km in Idaho, but in other areas, this is found to be as low as 21 sq km or as high as 200 sq km. Females overlap into other territories, but males do not. Young cougars can be found to move through the areas of both females and males.
How many sq km do cougars have?
In winter to spring, cougars have been found to use between 31 and 243 sq km, but in summer through to fall, their areas increased to 106 to 293 sq km.
Where are cougars found?
Their range covered from British Columbia to Alberta in Canada and from California to Florida in the United States. Cougars had been found in the Yukon in Alaska but had never been seen in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island on ...
Why does it need our help?
Once the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, the cougar has now been eliminated from most of its native habitat. Indeed the cougar used to roam across the entire U.S., but cougars east of the Mississippi are now considered extinct, with the exception of the Florida panther. Within the U.S. cougars only exist in large enough numbers to maintain viable breeding populations in the western states.
Why did the cougars disappear?
The elimination of the cougar from the East was a result of the ceaseless trapping and hunting by the early settlers, who considered the cougar a threat to humans and livestock, as well as a competitor for game animals . Cougars were nearly extinct by the late 1800's, and increasing deforestation, which reduced the cougar's habitat and its main food source, the white-tailed deer, spelled the final destruction of the eastern cougar. While in parts of the East forests and white-tailed deer populations have rebounded, the return of cougar populations remains unlikely due to a variety of conflicts stemming from human modification of the area.
How many cougars are there in Oregon?
Oregon's Cougar Management Plan requires a minimum population of 3,000 cougars, but has no upward ceiling or limit on the cougar population. ODFW estimates Oregon's current population of cougars to be at around 6,600. However, ODFW includes kittens in their estimates, many of whom never reach adulthood.
What is the measure to reduce cougar hunting?
In 1994, cougar management took a turn when Measure 18 , an initiative put on the ballot by Oregon citizens, was passed. Measure 18 outlaws the use of dogs for cougar sport hunting, which appealed to many as a way to reduce the number of cougars killed by sport hunters, since the use of dogs is considered the most efficient way to hunt cougars. While Measure 18 initially reduced the numbers of cougars hunted, policy changes by ODFW, as well as the Oregon Legislature, have served to counteract the effects of Measure 18. Season and area limits on hunting were removed, the price of cougar tags dropped from $50 to $10, and tag sales increased from 937 in 1997 to over 34,000 in 2003. As a result, the number of cougars killed has returned to pre-Measure 18 levels.
How often do cougars eat deer?
Cougars typically consume a deer every week to ten days, and will hide large carcasses to feed off of for several days.
How long does it take for a cougar to breed?
Their fur is uniformly colored either red-brown or gray-brown. Once considered to be largely solitary animals, recent research has indicated cougars have complex social structures. They begin to breed at 2-3 years old and continue to breed every 2-3 years throughout their lifespan, which lasts an average of eight years.
How many kittens do cougars have?
Females produce a litter of 2-3 kittens, which they raise to maturity, a period of 18-24 months. Cougars can occupy a wide variety of environments such as Florida's swamps, the Southwest's deserts, and the Pacific Northwest's damp forests.
What are the factors that make a particular region favorable for cougars or mountain lions?
They include, abundance of prey, prey vulnerability, stalk cover, etc.
What is cougar cover?
So most of the cougar habitats offer such cover in the form of thick vegetation, rocks and boulders, etc. A good cover also means protection for its young ones from predators.
What are the habitats of cougars?
Cougars prefer dense forests, coastal swamps, rocky cliffs, and mountain ranges as their habitat, and tend to avoid areas that are open, lack adequate vegetation and stalk cover. It has been observed that the diverse habitats of cougars have something or the other in common.
Why are cougars endangered?
Though the extent of their habitat has been reduced, cougars have escaped the threat of extinction, mainly due to their highly adaptable nature.
What are cougars' territories?
Cougars are solitary animals with individual territories. Only mothers roam about with their cubs. They have large territories, which are usually oval or circular in shape. While males have very large territories, the home range of females are smaller and may overlap with the territories of more than one male. The area of cougar territories depends on the abundance of prey and vegetation. If there is a scarcity of prey in a particular area, the size of individual territories would be large.
How long do cougars live?
Cougars have a lifespan of 8 to 13 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.
How many names are there for cougars?
In the English language alone, there are over 40 names for cougars, which earns it the distinction of having the most names for a single animal. The cougar is the fourth heaviest cat in the world, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar. In America, it is the second heaviest wildcat, after the jaguar.
How many cougars were confirmed in Minnesota in 2010?
There have been four cougar confirmations in different parts of Minnesota in late summer into the fall of 2010. All were confirmed by trail camera and sites were verified by DNR personnel.
How old was a cougar when it was killed?
A cougar was killed by a farmer Sunday in rural Ray County. It was brought to Columbia for a necropsy. It was a 115 pound male estimated to be about two years old.
What is the tuft of hair on the fence in Oregon County?
A tuft of hair left on a fence in Oregon County March 9 definitely belongs to a mountain lion, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). This is the sixth verified mountain lion sighting in Missouri since late last November and the 16th in modern times. MDC has no evidence to suggest that a breeding population of mountain lions exists in Missouri.
Where are cougars found?
It has one of the largest ranges in the world, extending from southern Canada to the tip of South America. In North America, cougars were formerly distributed from coast to coast.
How much does a jaguar weigh?
The collared jaguar weighed in at 118 lbs. with a thick and solid build. Field biologists' assessment shows the cat to be healthy and hardy.
What county in Texas shot a mountain lion?
A landowner in Texas County shot a mountain lion on Sept. 5 after encountering it on his property. It is speculated that this may be the same cat photographed by a trail camera in August in nearby Shannon County.
What animal was killed by a wildlife specialist?
A female mountain lion was killed by a wildlife specialist after a reported calf kill on a farmer's property.
Overview
The cougar (Puma concolor) is a large cat native to the Americas. 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. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. Due to its wide range, it has many names, including puma, mountain lion, catamou…
Naming and etymology
The word cougar is borrowed from the Portuguese çuçuarana, via French; it was originally derived from the Tupi language. A current form in Brazil is suçuarana. In the 17th century, Georg Marcgrave named it cuguacu ara. Marcgrave's rendering was reproduced in 1648 by his associate Willem Piso. Cuguacu ara was then adopted by John Ray in 1693. In 1774, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon converted cuguacu ara to cuguar, which was later modified to "cougar" in English.
Taxonomy and evolution
Felis concolor was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 for a cat with a long tail from Brazil. The second half of the name, "concolor" is Latin for "of uniform color". It was placed in the genus Puma by William Jardine in 1834. This genus is part of the Felinae. The cougar is most closely related to the jaguarundi and the cheetah.
Characteristics
The head of the cougar is round and the ears are erect. Its powerful forequarters, neck, and jaw serve to grasp and hold large prey. It has four retractile claws on its hind paws and five on its forepaws, of which one is a dewclaw. The larger front feet and claws are adaptations for clutching prey.
Cougars are slender and agile members of the Felidae. They are the fourth larg…
Distribution and habitat
The cougar has the largest range of any wild land animal in the Americas, spanning 110 degrees of latitude from the Yukon Territory in Canada to the southern Andes in Chile. The species was extirpated from eastern North America, aside from Florida, but they may be recolonizing their former range and isolated populations have been documented east of their contemporary ranges in both …
Behavior and ecology
Cougars are important keystone species in Western Hemisphere ecosystems, linking numerous different species at many trophic levels. In a comprehensive literature review of more than 160 studies on cougar ecology, ecological interactions with 485 other species in cougar-inhabited ecosystems have been shown to involve different areas of interaction, ranging from the use of other s…
Conservation
The cougar has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 and is also listed on CITES Appendix II. 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. Hunting is regulated in Canada, Mexico, Peru and the United States. Establishing wildlife …
Relationships with humans
Due to the expanding human population, cougar ranges increasingly overlap with areas inhabited by humans. Attacks on humans are very rare, as cougar prey recognition is a learned behavior and they do not generally recognize humans as prey. In a 10-year study in New Mexico of wild cougars who were not habituated to humans, the animals did not exhibit threatening behavior to researchers wh…