Alternate name: Cougar/Puma/Florida Panther
Family: Felidae, Cats view all from this family
Description A large, unspotted cat with a relatively small head and a long, dark-tipped tail. Pale brown to tawny above; white overlaid with buff below. Dark spot at base of whiskers. Ears short and rounded, with dark backs. Legs long and heavy; feet large. Juvenile buff with black spots.L 6–9' (1.5–2.75 m); T 21–37" (53–92 cm); HF 8 3/4–12" (22–31 cm); Wt 75–275 lb (34–125 kg).
Endangered Status Two subspecies of the Mountain Lion are on the U.S. Endangered Species List. The Eastern Puma is classified as endangered throughout the eastern U.S., and the Florida Panther is classified as endangered in Florida. Because the Mountain Lion requires isolated or undisturbed game-rich wilderness, it has declined or been exterminated in much of the habitat where it once thrived early in the 20th century. Its habitat was overtaken by development in many areas, and its main prey, the White-tailed Deer, disappeared over much of its range. For many years, this large wildcat was pursued by bounty hunters and persecuted as a threat to livestock. In recent years, there have been a few sightings of animals or tracks in Canada’s Maritime Provinces and in upper New England, New York State, and elsewhere in the East, but most reports have turned out to be false. Radio-tracking is being used to study the behavior of Florida Panthers, and an office has been established to investigate reports of Eastern Puma sightings in the southern Appalachians. Currently the species is fully protected where rare, and classified as a game animal where abundant.
Warning Occasionally Mountain Lions have been known to injure or even kill people, usually children, but they tend to avoid humans unless cornered or extremely hungry.
Similar Species Jaguar is spotted. Jaguarundi is much smaller and shorter-legged.
Breeding No fixed mating season; 1–6 young usually born in midsummer every other year. Gestation 82–98 days. Newborn weighs about 14 oz (400 g).
Habitat Originally varied; now generally mountainous, semi-arid terrain; subtropical and tropical forests and swamps.
Range Western North America from British Columbia and s Alberta south through w Wyoming to California, w Texas and s Texas. Despite numerous reports throughout U.S., Everglades area of s Florida, which contains perhaps 50 individuals, has only viable population east of Mississippi River.
Discussion The most widely distributed cat in the Americas (found from Canada to Argentina), the Mountain Lion is a solitary, strongly territorial hunting species. Unlike most cats, it hunts day or night, although it is generally active by day only in undisturbed areas, choosing to hunt at night in populated areas to avoid humans. A good climber and excellent jumper, able to leap more than 20 feet (6 m), this animal swims only when necessary. It feeds primarily on large mammals, especially deer, but also eats Coyotes, porcupines, beavers, mice, marmots, hares, raccoons, birds, and even grasshoppers. Sometimes it waits for passing game, but more often it travels widely after prey; a male may cover up to 25 miles (40 km) in one night. It can outrun a deer, but only for short distances. After locating large prey by scent or sound, it usually slinks forward slowly and silently, with belly low to the ground and legs tensed to leap. It tries to stalk within 30 feet (9 m) before running from its hiding place and leaping onto its victim’s back, keeping its hindlegs on the ground for support, control, and stability. The Mountain Lion kills its prey by biting into the back of the victim’s neck. Where deer abound, an adult Mountain Lion may kill an average of one per week. (This is often beneficial to the deer herd, helping to keep it from overpopulating.) There have been rare, unexplained killing orgies, when an individual has slaughtered several deer or a flock of domestic sheep in one night. This carnivore covers the meat it does not eat immediately with leaves, sticks, and like material for later use, and may visit the cache several times. Usually silent, the Mountain Lion can produce many kinds of calls, including screams, hisses, and growls. It also utters a shrill, piercing whistle, evidently an alarm, when it has been treed or cornered; a female uses this whistle to signal her cubs. The Mountain Lion’s bloodcurdling mating call has been likened to a woman’s scream. The male has a large home range that does not overlap with that of another male; the female has a smaller one that may overlap with those of other females and may be enclosed by that of a male. The home range of a male (and sometimes of a female) is marked by "scrapes," piles of dirt kicked up by the hindfeet. The Mountain Lion breeds at two and a half years, then generally every other year thereafter. The young are born in a maternity den that is lined with a small amount of moss or other vegetation and located in a rock shelter, crevice, pile of rocks, thicket, cave, or other protected place. The newborn cubs, heavily spotted for the first three months of life, are raised only by the female. At about three months, the young are weaned and begin hunting with the mother. Mother and young, who remain together for about a year and a half, communicate by licking, rubbing, and vocalizing. The young produce loud chirping whistles. A female Mountain Lion can breed until at least 12 years of age, a male to at least 20. These animals pair only during the breeding season, when for about two weeks male and female hunt together and sleep side by side.
