Cougar |
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Scientific classification |
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Binomial name |
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Puma
concolor |
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Cougar range map |
The Cougar (Puma
concolor), also known as the Puma or Mountain Lion, is a
large, solitary cat found in the Americas. It has a vast range, from Yukon
Territory in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. Its primary food is
deer but it hunts a range of prey, from insects, mice and rabbits to the
Domestic Cat, the Domestic Dog, the Alpaca, livestock, and even the Bighorn
Sheep and the Elk, and sometimes in the Rocky Mountains kills mature cattle and
horses. It is a secretive cat that usually avoids people, very rarely attacking
humans.[2]
Due to overhunting and
continual human development of Cougar habitat, populations have dropped in many
parts of its historical range, although recent conservation efforts have
allowed numbers to improve in some areas. However, hunting the Cougar is still
common in the United States, and is permitted in every state from the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean with the exception of California. The Cougar is
typically hunted with dogs that chase the animal until it climbs a tree,
whereupon the hunters shoot it. State agency records show that over 30,000
Cougars were killed for sport between 1996 and 2006, one of the highest totals
for any decade on record.[citation needed]
In the English language the
Cougar has over 40 different names. Cougars are known by many regional names,
including Panther, Catamount, Painter, American Lion,
Mexican Lion, Florida Panther, Silver Lion, Red Lion,
Red Panther, Red Tiger, Brown Tiger, Deer Tiger, Ghost
Cat, Mountain Screamer, Indian Devil, Sneak Cat, King
Cat, and Painted Cat. The word Puma comes from the Quechua
language. In Brazil it is also known as the Suçuarana, from the Tupi
language, but also has other names.
In North America,
particularly the United States, "Panther" by itself refers to a
Cougar when the context implies a local species. In South America,
"Panther" refers to both the spotted and black color morphs of the
Jaguar.
There is a considerable
variation in color and size of this animal across its large range of habitats.
Adult weights can range from 145-200 pounds. However, in spite of anecdotal
accounts of "black panthers" in the Cougar's range (and outside the
Jaguar's), melanism has never been documented in the Cougar. Such anecdotal
accounts are particularly prominent in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern
United States, a region where P. concolor is accepted as having been
wholly extirpated by the late 1800's, and where breeding populations have not
been documented as re-established by 2005.
The Cougar is tawny colored
with lighter patches on the under body including the jaws, chin, and throat,
with some color variation from region to region. The Cougar can run as quickly
as 70km/h (43.5 mph), jump 6 m (20 ft) from a standing position,
and vertically leap 2.5 m (8 ft). It has been seen to jump
horizontally 12 m (40 ft) and vertically nearly 5 m
(16 ft). One Cougar was observed jumping 3.6m (12 ft) up into a tree
while still holding a deer in its jaws. Its bite strength is more powerful than
that of any dog. Cougar claws are retractable and it has four toes. In North
America, the Cougar is slightly larger than the Leopard and similar in size to
the Jaguar; in South America, the Cougar is somewhat smaller. Adult males in
North America may be more than 2.4 m (8 ft) long (nose to tail), and
have an average mass of about 60-70 kg (approx. 150 lb). Some in rare
cases may reach over 120 kg (260 lb). One in particular which was
shot in Arizona weighed 125 kg (275 lb), after it had had its
intestines removed. Females are much smaller and an adult can be less than
2 m (7 ft) long and have a mass of about 35 kg (weigh approx
75 lb). Cougar kittens have brownish-blackish spots and rings on their
tails. Their life span is about a decade in the wild and 25 years or more in
captivity. Cougars that live closest to the equator are the smallest, and
increase in size in populations closer to the poles.
Though frequently lumped in
with larger cats, the Cougar is distinct in that it cannot roar, and makes
vocalizations much more common to small cats.
In spite of not being
closely related to the pantherine big cats, hybrids between the Cougar and the
Leopard have been bred and are called the Pumapard. Hybrids between the Cougar
and the Ocelot have also been bred. Hybrids between the Cougar and the Jaguar
have been reported, but none have been proven.
The Cougar has the largest
range of any wild cat. Before the modern human population explosion in the
Americas, the Cougar ranged across most of the Americas. Even now, it has the
widest range of any New World land animal, spanning 110 degrees of latitude,
from the northern Yukon Territory (in Canada) to the southern Andes (on both
the Chilean and Argentinean sides). It has also been sighted recently in
Northern Connecticut and other parts of New England, however, sightings are not
generally regarded as reliable enough to serve as scientific evidence.[3]
One of the few locations where the Cougar is in great danger is within the
United States, mainly Florida and other parts of the East Coast. This is mostly
due to human infringement, clashing with cities and other urban advancements or
because of the loss of territories that urbanization brings. When the Cougar is
found and relocated to more "wild" parts of the state, it is put into
competition with pre-existing populations.
Hunted almost to extinction
in the United States and eastern Canada, the Cougar has made a determined
comeback, with an estimated 30,000 individuals in the western United States. In
Canada, the Cougar is found west of the prairies, in Alberta, British Columbia
and the southern Yukon. It is also found in smaller numbers within the Canadian
Shield and river valley regions of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The
densest concentration of Cougars in North America is found on Vancouver Island
in British Columbia, while in the United States the densest concentration is in
the Ventana Wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest, California.[1]
The Cougar is gradually
extending its range to the east, following creeks and riverbeds, and has
reached Missouri, Michigan and Kansas. In Texas, the Cougar is generally
confined to the western 2/3 of the state. However, there have been Cougar
sightings in 218 of the 254 Texas counties, with confirmed mortalities in 67
counties since 1983, an indication that it is expanding statewide to its
historical range.[4] There are continuing reports of the survival of
a remnant population of the Eastern Cougar in New Brunswick, Ontario and the
Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec.
In the eastern United
States, rumors and myths of the Cougar never died, but this cat is slowly
making its way from myth to reality — especially along the Appalachian
Mountains from Virginia to Georgia. There, Cougar sightings are steadily
increasing, and a government bounty is offered in many places for confirmed
sightings. One very compelling piece of evidence surfaced in June 1997, when a
Kentucky man hit and killed a Cougar kitten with his truck. DNA analysis proved
that the animal was descended in part from wild North American Cougars, and it
showed no evidence of having been someone's escaped pet.[2]
The sightings are not
limited to the mountains either. Locals as far east as the Coastal Plain Region
of North Carolina have reported sightings.[5] In 1994 Charles R.
"Buster" Humphreys Jr. claimed in his book, Panthers of the Costal
Plain to have recorded over 500 sightings of Cougars. Half of these were
coal black panthers. This species has never been officially recorded in the
State of North Carolina.[6].
Due to urbanization in the
urban-wildland interface, Cougar ranges increasingly overlap with human
habitation, especially in areas with a large population of deer, its natural
prey. In these cases, the Cougar may occasionally prey on livestock and on
pets, such as dogs and cats. Cougar attacks on humans have increased since the
late 1980s when Cougar hunting was effectively banned in many states and the
Cougar populations began to climb dramatically. Even so, Cougar attacks are
still rare.
There are an estimated
4,000 to 6,000 Cougars in California (est. circa 1990) and an estimated 4,500
to 5,000 in Colorado.
The Cougar can kill and
drag prey about 7 times its own weight. It normally hunts large mammals, such
as deer, but will eat small animals, such as the American Beaver, the North
American Porcupine or even mice, if the need arises and can even kill a Moose.
Its diet consists of 50 different species. It hunts alone and ambushes its
prey, often from behind. It usually kills with a bite at the base of the skull
to break the neck of its target. The carcass of the kill is usually then buried
or partially covered to protect it for several days, while the Cougar continues
to roam and comes back for nourishment as needed. The Cougar does not enjoy
being a scavenger, however, and will generally hunt for its own food and not
eat from a carcass, even if one is available. The Cougar will catch and kill
its prey 82% of the time, and are consequently finicky eaters. Like other cats,
it will also move to certain areas for feeding. Adult males tend to claim a 100
square mile (250 km²) stretch for their territory; adult females take 20
to 60 square miles (50 to 150 km²) on average; however their ranges can
vary from as much as 370 square miles (1000 km²) to as little as 10 square
miles (25 km²).
The Cougar, like all other
cats, is territorial, although more territorial than most cats, especially
animals from desert and very snowy regions. It will mostly avoid fighting and
usually wards off others with urine markings, but it sometimes competes
aggressively for territory, especially among males. An Adult American Black
Bear may be able to kill a Cougar and steal its kill, but generally conflicts
between the two predators does not occur. Despite being fearsome when it comes
to territorial disputes with other Cougars or protecting its young (have been
seen warding off bears), it is mostly shy and reclusive, and tends to avoid
humans.
A male may breed with
several females. Females usually have 3 or 4 kittens in a den in a rocky
location. If a male Cougar invades the territory of another male, he may kill
the kittens of resident females so that they will become receptive to mating.
Attacks on humans are rare,
but do occur, especially as humans encroach on wildlands and impact the
availability of the Cougar's traditional prey. There were around 100 Cougar
attacks on humans in the USA and Canada during the period from 1890 to January
2004, with 16 fatalities; California, which has the highest population density
of areas with a significant Cougar habitat, has had 64 attacks and 16
fatalities, most of which happened in the past 10 years. Attacks by Cougars on
humans and pets are associated with urban areas situated in the wildland urban
intermix such as the Boulder, Colorado area, which have encouraged a
traditional prey of the Cougar, the Mule Deer, to habituate to urban areas and
the presence of people and pets. Cougars in such circumstances may come to lose
their fear of both people and dogs and come to see them as prey.[7]
By comparison, about 40
people die in the US each year of bee stings; humans are far more likely to get
struck by lightning or die from a black widow spider bite.[8]
"Given the opportunities available," notes wildlife biologist Kevin
Hansen, "attacks on people are surprisingly rare events indeed, suggesting
an overwhelming willingness on the part of the cougar to live and let live, at
least where humans are concerned."[9]
On January 8, 2004 a puma
killed and partly ate a mountain biker in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in
Orange County, California; what is assumed to be the same animal attacked
another mountain biker in the park the same day, but was fought off by other
bikers. A young male puma was shot nearby by rangers later in the day.
From September 2004 to
January 2005, there were several reported Cougar attacks in the Adirondack
Mountain towns of upstate New York. The attacks were most prevalent in Hampton,
New York. Although no humans were actually attacked, the animal did kill
several dogs and some exotic birds in a zoo. The government denied the
existence of a Cougar in the Adirondacks, and some cryptozoologists suggested
that the animal was a Mesonychid, although no eyewitness reports described the
animal as resembling a dog.
The Cougar cannot be hunted
in California except under very specific circumstances. This, as well as the
extermination in California of the Gray Wolf and Brown Bear, has allowed the
Cougar to increase its numbers. California law requires that wild animals who
have attacked a human must be killed if they can be located.
Culver (2000) has reported
that many of these subspecies are genetically similar. This study suggests that
the original North American subspecies of Puma concolor became extinct
during the Pleistocene extinctions some 10,000 years ago and that North America
was then repopulated by South American pumas, leading to the genetic similarity
of modern North American cougars. The subspecies suggested by Dr. Culver are
the following:
However, other criteria in
addition to molecular genetic similarity are considered in deciding subspecies
status, and no consensus has been reached about reorganization of species
taxonomy.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cougar&action=history
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html