Pumas
(
Puma concolor
), also called
cougars
,
mountain lions
,
catamounts
, or
brown panthers
, are large
wild cats
that live in the western half of
North America
, along with
Florida
, and most of
Central
and
South America
.
Pumas are mainly tan-color, and can be up to 9 feet long, although average length is 6 ? 8 feet. They can weigh from 29
kilograms
to 90 kilograms. (The
males
are larger.) Most pumas live up to 21 years.
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source?
]
Although pumas are very large and some are larger than humans, the puma is classified as a small cat. That means that, in scientific terms, the puma is more closely related to the domestic cat than they are to
lions
. Unlike the big cats in the genus
Panthera
, the puma cannot roar. Instead, it can growl, hiss, screech, and purr. Since pumas are, in the biological sense, small cats, they are capable of purring continuously. The big cats can only purr while breathing out.
Pumas are
carnivores
because they eat only meat. Pumas are
apex predators
. They prey on
deer
,
elk
,
bighorn sheeps
,
guanacos
,
raccoons
,
squirrels
,
foxes
,
rabbits
, and
skunks
. They can also prey on
mice
,
beavers
,
coyotes
,
bobcats
,
birds
,
porcupines
,
fish
, and
bear
cubs. They will sometimes prey on livestock such as
cattle
,
goats
,
sheep
, and
pigs
. They hunt at night. Cougars can see better at night than people can. They can hear well too. Pumas stalk their prey, which means they walk slowly and quietly, they hide and then when close, they jump or run fast to catch their prey by surprise. They live and hunt alone. Female cougars take care of their babies until they are old enough to take care for themselves. Baby cougars are called cubs or kittens.
Pumas live in the mountains and forests far from people. However, encounters with humans happen sometimes. 26 people have been killed by cougars in North America in the last 30 years. However, many more cougars have been killed by humans. Cougars used to be found all in eastern North America, but they were hunted to extinction there by the beginning of the 1900s. Also, recent sightings of cougars have been reported from
Michigan
,
New Brunswick
, southern
Indiana
,
Kentucky
, and
Vermont
. For now, the only confirmed, population of cougars east of the
Mississippi River
is in
Florida
, where a subspecies of the cougar lives.
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Puma concolor
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Felis concolor
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