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It has the handsome looks of a lion and the dexterity of a leopard, boasts the largest range in the western hemisphere of the terrestrial mammals and is the second largest cat in the Americas. This attractive and efficient ambush predator can run fast, jump high, climb and swim well. That’s a lot of accolades for the world’s largest small cat (it is apparently not classified as the smallest big cat, although technically…).
The puma, cougar, mountain lion, catamount, call it by any of these names, has yet another trait about which to brag: more names than it can shake a stick at. The Maliseet of New Brunswick call it “pi-twal” (the long-tailed one). English settlers along the Atlantic coast of America originally called it “panther” after animals they had seen in animal shows, zoos and artworks. French explorers called it “carcajou” – a name later given to the wolverine which caused much confusion. Whatever name you choose, the puma undoubtedly punches above its weight class in the wild.
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Pumas are solitary animals
Striking markings adorn the face, emphasised by long whiskers (that aid in navigation and the perception of its environment) and large eyes (complete with round pupils for nocturnal vision). The head is short and round and the backs of the ears darker than the rest of the reddish fur.
The head attaches to the robust body via a strong, muscular neck.
The puma is the second largest cat (after the jaguar) in the Americas but is still considered a small cat. It has a lithe, muscular, compact body with a deep chest, useful when hauling heavy prey. It has a relatively long tail (up to 1 metre long), which is used to help balance when jumping or climbing.
This predator varies considerably in size, weight and colour across its range. Puma are larger in North America than South America with males significantly heavier than females. The short fur varies from red or tawny to grey or dark brown.
The puma is well adapted for catching and tearing up large prey with a very strong neck and forequarters plus muscular jaws, a wide gape, and long canine teeth. These are used to clamp down when grasping large prey. Like other carnivores, the cutting teeth are specially adapted to slice through meat and sinews.
Like other cats, there are five digits on the pumas forepaws (including the dewclaw slightly higher up the wrist) and four on their hind paws. Each digit has a sharp claw that retracts into a sheath while the animal is walking
but is used with deadly skill when securing prey. Front feet and claws are larger than the hind.
A widespread species, puma have the largest range of all terrestrial mammals in the western hemisphere living across numerous habitats including forested fragments and rocky, mountainous terrain. The most important feature of a puma home range is cover to enable stalking of prey and denning.
Puma are exceptionally athletic animals and are well-adapted in particular for jumping. They can also run fast, clear obstacles with ease, climb and swim well. They appear to enjoy their athleticism and are playful animals, their incredible leaping ability taking them upwards and forwards.
Puma use their sense of sight and hearing far more than smell to hunt. They carefully creep as close as possible to their target, ambushing the unsuspecting creature from behind with a rapid charge and leap. Prey is suffocated with a throat bite or dies from a broken neck.
A puma will cache (store away) its kill to avoid detection by scavengers, covering the leftovers with vegetation or other debris.
Puma are opportunistic and eat a variety of prey, hunting deer, elk, moose calves, bighorn sheep and guanaco efficiently, but settling for smaller prey where necessary such as birds, beavers, snowshoe hares, ground squirrels, and coyotes, and even scavenging on occasion.
Due to their size difference, males and females may select for different prey species in the same area creating a natural resource partition.
A master of camouflage and patience, puma are extremely elusive and hard to find, exacerbated by their crepuscular and nocturnal habits. They rest up during the day in dense vegetation, rocky caves or even up trees. When foraging, the animals cover much ground (10 km in a night).
Their activity is segmented into hour-long bouts of travelling, stalking, waiting, ambushing and resting.
Solitary animals, puma typically only associate to breed although females will remain with their offspring for up to two years. They live in home ranges where prey, water and shelter is available and they defend territories, demarcated using piles of debris covered with urine or scat. They also claw trees to mark.
Males defend larger areas than females and a male’s domain will overlap with more than one female’s but not with another male’s. Female’s with larger litters tend to defend more living space than those with less offspring. Populations are comprised of resident adults, females with kittens and transients (young newly independent animals).
Polygamous by nature, males roam widely in search of receptive females, breeding with as many as possible. Males with big territories find numerous mates and a territorial male will aim to achieve exclusivity with females in his domain. Puma are usually silent, but during breeding they emit long, scary screams.
These occur intermittently over several hours. Competition for breeding rights is intense and males are often killed in fights. They breed throughout the year, but most commonly in the winter so that cubs are born in the summer.
Females reach sexual maturity at two or three years old and once mated, they give birth to 1-6 kittens (ave 3) after a gestation of 90 days. The female gives birth in a sheltered place such as a cave or dense vegetation.The den lacks any obvious modifications, but is kept clear of scat or food remains. It is abandoned when the cubs are about 40–70 days old.
Kittens are born with their eyes closed and weigh a mere 500 g at birth. They grow rapidly and their eyes open by the end of the second week. They are born spotted, but lose their spots before they reach the 1-year mark. A mother nurses her young for 4-5 weeks, and remains with them for 18-24 months to teach them hunting skills.
The interval between births is about two years, less if a litter dies.
Female pumas do all the parenting. Males play no role and are not allowed to approach the young. Unrelated males will kill cubs to bring females back into heat. Mortality among kittens is very high during the first year and again after they leave their mothers as newly independent youngsters are prone to starvation or predation.
There is a high degree of conflict with other territorial pumas while the young animals (males in particular) are transient and seeking their own living space. Males disperse much further than females sometimes travelling remarkable distances (records between 250-1000 km) from their birth places.
Except for monkeys, the puma is the most playful animal in existence William Henry Hudson