Powerful, graceful and supremely adaptable, the
mountain lion - or, cougar, panther, puma, catamount or painter - laid
claim to a range that encompassed most of the New World, from the snowy fields
of the Yukon to the forested coastal mountains of Tierra del Fuego and from the
shores of the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the Atlantic. It occupied more territory
and more environmental niches than any other land mammal (other than the Homo
sapien) in the Western Hemisphere.
Appearance and Anatomy of Mountain Lions
Shape: similar to short-haired house cat, with a relatively small head, shortened
face, small and rounded ears, elongated body, and long neck and tail
Typical Length: males, about eight to as much as nine feet from the nose to
the tip of its tail, and females, about six to seven feet
Typical Shoulder Height: two to two and one-half feet
Usual Weight: males, 125 to 160 pounds, and females, 80 to 100 pounds
Color: Tawny to rufous to buff to bluish gray along the back and sides with
lighter colored belly, throat and inner legs and with a black-bracketed nose
and a dark-tipped tail
Hunting Attributes: powerful legs suited for rapid acceleration and pouncing
and teeth designed for seizing, slashing and tearing
Modern Distribution, Range and Habitat
Remarkably, in spite of relentless human intrusion, the mountain lion has
retained much of its original distribution throughout the New World, although
by 1900, it had been hunted almost into extinction in the eastern United States.
A century later, it had begun to return to the eastern states, drawn primarily
by the burgeoning white-tailed deer population.
The mountain lion - a solitary, nocturnal animal - may stake out a range
of several dozen square miles, with the size of its area defined largely by the
abundance of prey. Typically, the male, declaring his ownership by scents, refuses
to share his range with other males. A female may share her range with other
females, and she selects a range based, not only on the basis of prey availability,
but also on proximity to male ranges and opportunities for mating. The mountain
lion tends to use a core area for birthing and resting and an extended area for
hunting.
The mountain lion may select a range located anywhere from the shore of the
sea up to the higher elevations of mountain slopes, reaching up to elevations
up to 11,000 feet in California and as high as 15,000 feet in Ecuador, according
to Walker's Mammals of the World. It may migrate up into the higher elevations
in the summer and down into lower elevations in winter.
Except for females with kittens, the mountain lion shelters, not in a fixed
den, but rather in crevices, caves and dense brush. According to the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife Internet site, they have been found living in populated
areas, in drainage ditches and culverts.
The mountain lion is so adaptable that it may thrive, said the Our
Lands and Their Creatures Internet site, in habitats varying from "lowland tropical
forests, swamps, and grassland, to mountain conifer forests, desert scrub, and
any location with adequate cover and prey." As a stalk-and-ambush predator,
the mountain lion, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture Internet
site, prefers densely forested areas in coastal swamps such as those of southern
Florida, and it tends to choose vegetated ridges, rocky cliffs and ledges, and
other solid covers in inland areas such as those of the Southwest desert basin
and mountain range country.
Hunting Habits, Diet and Predator Foes
The mountain lion hunts by stalking and ambushing, often pouncing on its
prey from an elevated vantage point or running it down with a burst of speed.
If possible, it attacks the back of its prey, crushing the neck with its teeth.
It uses its large front paws and heavy claws to clutch its prey. Usually, according
to the U. S. Department of Agriculture paper, "Managing Mountain Lion Problems," the
mountain lion removes its prey's viscera and eats the heart, liver and lungs
first.
In the United States, the mountain lion often favors white tail and mule deer,
but it will prey on any animal it can catch, including anything from elk, moose
and bighorn sheep to rodents, reptiles and birds. Some even eat insects.
Typically, the mountain lion caches its larger kills, secreting them in secluded
spots and covering them with leaves and branches. It returns to feed from its
kill for several days. On average, it may kill a larger animal once a week. A
female with kittens to feed may kill more frequently. An adult mountain lion
eats 8 to 10 pounds of meat a day, according to a fact sheet prepared by T. R.
Mader, Research Director, Abundant Wildlife Society of North America.
Mature, healthy mountain lions run little risk of predation (other than by
human hunters), but the young or sick may be attacked by wolf packs, bears or
even other mountain lions.
Life Cycle
The male mountain lion reaches sexual maturity at about three years
of age, the female, at about two and a half years of age, according to Walker's
Mammals of the World. The mountain lion has no specific breeding season, but
in the United States, it often mates in the late fall or early winter. The male
returns to his solitary ways. The female gives birth to one to six - commonly
three or four - spotted, blind kittens about three months later, typically in
a den located in a dense thicket or beneath a fallen log.
She nurses her brood for about three months, introducing the kittens to meat
after their first month and a half. She teaches them to hunt when they reach
about six months of age, when they take on their adult colors. She may tutor
them in the art of the kill for perhaps another year, when they will leave her
side to face the hazards of establishing their own territories. She will take
her rest from rearing mountain lions for perhaps a year. With luck, a mountain
lion may live in the wild for 8 to 10 years. It might live in captivity for 20
years.
Taxonomy of the Mountain Lion
Kingdom -- Animalia -- All animals
Phylum -- Chordata -- Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish
Class -- Mammalia -- Vertebrate, milk-producing animals with hair
Order -- Carnivora -- Cats, canines, bears, badgers, weasels, skunks and others
Family -- Felidae -- Mountain lions, jaguarundis, bobcats, Canadian lynx, jaguars,
tigers, lions, margays, ocelots, leopards, cheetahs and domestic cats
Genus -- Puma -- Mountain lion, jaguarundis
Species -- Puma concolor -- Mountain Lion
A Few Mountain Lion Facts
Exceptionally agile, the mountain lion can leap more than 18 feet in height
and more than 20 feet in length. It can drop more than 50 feet from a vantage
point onto prey without suffering injury. - Geocities Internet site
The mountain lion can run approximately 35 miles for hour for short distances.
The Mountain Lion uses its long, heavy tail like a rudder when turning sharply
to catch prey such as deer. - San Francisco State University Internet site
The mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animals with the highest
number of names. In the English language the mountain lion has more than 40 names.
Unlike the tiger or the African lion, the mountain lion cannot roar because
of the structure of its larynx, or voice box. Instead, it produces a high-pitched
scream, earning it a place in American folklore. - San Francisco State University
Internet site
--Source/writer: Jay Sharp
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Mountain Lion/Cougar
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