Cougar

Puma concolor

CLASS: Mammalia ORDER: Carnivora FAMILY: Felidae GENUS: Puma SPECIES: concolor

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With the exception of a mother with kittens, cougars are solitary.

Cougars have no natural enemies (other than man). Fighting may occur among male cougars competing for a female, or between a female and a male in defense of her cubs. Cougars would much rather remain hidden than be confronted in the open, so avoidance is a primary strategy.

Meet Our Cougars

Cougar 1 Name

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Cougar 2 Name

Cougar 3 Name

Habitat & Diet

Cougars are native to North America and primarily live in forest and mountain regions. In the 1800s, settlers hunted cougars without restraint and nearly wiped out the entire midwestern population. Cougars no longer live in Illinois, but healthy populations still reside in the western regions of the U.S. and in some areas of the east. Since 2000, there have been occasional reports of cougars sighted in Illinois. Before this, there had been no sightings in Illinois for more than 100 years.

Wild cougars feed on deer and other large herbivores as well as smaller mammals. In captivity they enjoy a feline carnivore diet and deer meat.

Fun Facts

Awareness

A cougar’s eyesight is its most important sense, as befits an animal that secures most of its prey by stalking. It is believed that they see everything as shades of gray, and have trouble negotiating stationary objects. They are however, very sensitive to small movements. Sense of smell is also very important to the cougar, but is not as well developed as in canines (wolves, coyotes, etc).

Quickness & Agility

Cougars are very agile for their large size, and amazingly quick. They have poor endurance, however, and can only sprint a few hundred yards before becoming winded. A cougar will stalk its prey for a very short time before pouncing on it, giving prey very little time to escape. Cougars also have incredible leaping abilities – an adult can leap 30 feet out in all directions, and almost 20 feet straight up, making mountain travel very easy.

Growth & Development

Cougar kittens are born in late summer/early fall and weigh 6 ounces at birth. These spotted kittens are usually born in a secluded cave or rock overhang and are virtually undetectable by predators. By one month old, the kittens begin to feed on meat, and start learning to hunt by the time they are 6 months old. The kittens stay with their mother for at least a year before venturing out on their own.

Communication

Cougar mothers communicate with their kittens with a series of mews and grunts, and communicate with other cougars by growling, hissing, purring, and yowling. Cougars do not have a large voice box and cannot roar like lions and tigers, which distinguishes them from the “big” cats.