| Included in small cats owing to its physical | | | | compete with bears and wolves for its kills. |
| attributes, cougar shares an ancestor with | | | | In the south cougar is outmuscled by the |
| the African Cheetah. Its great bounds of | | | | Jaguar, though its versatile hunting ability |
| speed along with its long balancing tail are | | | | give it the edge. Attacks on humans are rare |
| indeed reminiscent of the fastest land | | | | and are often provoked by encroachment into |
| mammal, even as cougar masters in stalk and | | | | mountain lion territory. Staring the cat in |
| ambush predation. Its great hunting abilities | | | | the eye and intimidating it with controlled |
| have enabled it to survive in diverse | | | | loud noise along with attack by rocks and |
| habitats and become subject of folklore in | | | | sticks often drives the cat away in case of a |
| many communities, earning it more names than | | | | confrontation. Playing dead, as with bears, |
| any other cat, including - mountain lion, | | | | doesn't help - the cougar quickly approaches |
| mountain screamer, puma, panther, catamount, | | | | and delivers a fatal neck bite! |
| pi-twal, carcajou, couguar, and cuguacuarana. | | | | |
| | | | As with other cats, the solitary cougars come |
| The coat is of uniform color, typically | | | | together for mating several times a year. |
| tawny. Cubs are spotted, but become plain | | | | Three to four kittens are born, though |
| colored as they mature. Patches of lighter | | | | typically one or two survive in the wild - |
| color may occur on chin and throat. The body | | | | with the mother doing the sole parenting. The |
| structure is designed chiefly for agility and | | | | young begin hunting at six months and are |
| power. A robust head, powerful forequarters, | | | | capable of surviving independently at one to |
| deep chest and strong jaws enable cougar to | | | | one and a half years of age. Life span is |
| be a fearsome predator. The proportionately | | | | generally ten years in the wild and up to |
| longer hind legs enable greater bounds of | | | | twice that much in captivity. |
| speed along with a leaping ability second to | | | | |
| none among land predators - up to 40 feet | | | | Despite a distribution from Yukon to Andes in |
| horizontally! | | | | the Americas, cougar's population is facing a |
| | | | trend towards decline - owing primarily to |
| Though capable of generating tremendous | | | | habitat and prey loss accompanied by |
| speed, cougar prefers to stalk its prey | | | | predation by their only natural threat - |
| before pouncing on it with few lightning | | | | humans. The specie is not vulnerable yet |
| bounds, generating great momentum. Upon | | | | though and debate is gaining ground about |
| knocking down the prey cougar delivers a | | | | reintroducing them to the eastern |
| lethal neck bite - suffocating the animal. In | | | | territories, yielding bright prospects for |
| case of smaller prey, the cougar breaks the | | | | the future of this splendid panther! |
| neck by crushing the cervical vertebrae and | | | | |
| severing the spine. Usual prey is deer, | | | | The author is a blogger about cats and an |
| though the cat's great adaptability enables | | | | expert on cougar. |
| it to take a wide prey base - from insects to | | | | |
| large ungulates. | | | | This article is free for republishing |
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| Conflicts are rare with other species owing | | | | Source: |
| to its huge ranges in the wild. Though in | | | | |
| certain regions in the north, cougar does | | | | Occupation: A blogger about cats. |