Cougar

By Steve Kilger - Jul 11, 2003

Common Name: Cougar , Mountain Lion

Latin Name: Puma concolor

Range: limited; historically had one of the most extensive distribution of all American terrestrial mammals

Mature Weight: 67 to 103 kg

Diet: moose, wapiti, white-tailed deer, caribou, voles, squirrels, mice, muskrat, porcupine, beaver, raccoon, coyote, and even birds

Description: yellowish brown to grayish brown on the upper parts and a paler, almost buffy, color on the belly , tail is long, cylindrical

Notes: hunting pressure and other environmental changes have restricted their range to mountainous, remote areas… skilled killer; maneuvers to within 15m of the prey, then leaps on its back and breaks the animal's neck with a powerful bite below the base of the skull… nocturnal, solitary animals … cougars are polygamous - mating occurs from December to March

Source: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/index.html

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