Habitat
Cougars inhabit
areas from sea level to 19,000 feet (5,800 m) in the South American
Andes. They inhabit steep, rocky canyons, tropical rain forests,
prairies, deserts, coniferous forests and swamps. |
Length and
Weight
Adult male length (including tail) is
up to 9 feet (2.8 m); females up to 7 feet (2.1 m). Male cougars weigh
150-230 pounds (68-104 kg); females weigh 80-130 pounds (36-59 kg). |
Life
Span
Approximately 15 years in the wild; over 20 years
in captivity |
Diet
In the wild: Cougars
primarily hunt from dusk till dawn, and prey on a wide range
of large and small mammals including deer and other hoofed
animals, raccoon, rabbits and rodents, birds and invertebrates.
At the zoo: Horse
meat, mutton, chicken, rabbit, beef and knuckle bones. |
Reproduction
Female cougars sexually mature at about 2.5 years
of age; males at 3 to 4 years. Cougars are solitary and only pair up
for three to four weeks during the mating season, which normally occurs
during winter months. Gestation lasts about 90-95 days. Females usually
give birth in late winter or early spring to two or three cubs, but litters
can be up to six cubs. Males take no part in the rearing of cubs, and
have been known to kill unattended cubs.
Life Cycle
Cougar cubs are born with their eyes closed. Opening
at about two weeks, their eyes are blue and take about 16 months to
change to a greenish-yellow. Cubs weigh 1 pound (454 gr) or less at
birth, nurse for about three to four months, but can eat meat at about
6 weeks. Their coats have dark spots, which begin to fade after about
six months. Cubs usually remain with their mother for 18 to 24 months;
thereafter they seek to establish their own unoccupied, individual
territory. After leaving their mother, littermates often stay together
for four months or more.
A male's
territory, seldom overlapping with another male's territory, may
be up to 200 square miles (520 km2), and it overlaps or encompasses
many smaller territories of
females. They mark their territories by scrapes on trees or in the
soil, which are usually sprayed with urine
The Cougar-Wolf
Connection
With the absence of wolves at Yellowstone National Park since the early years
of this century, cougars were able to move from their normal range of steep,
rocky mountain sides to flat valleys. With the reintroduction of wolves into
Yellowstone in 1995, however, cougars have found the valleys an undesirable
place. Other than humans, wolves are the only natural predators of cougars.
Wolf packs at Yellowstone have been observed tracking cougar and stealing their
prey. On a less frequent basis, wolves have killed cougars. Today, cougars
are returning to their normal steep, rocky habitat. Wolves are helping to restore
the predator/prey balance of nature at Yellowstone.
|
Fascinating
Facts
- From a sitting position, cougars have been
observed springing upward 18 feet (5.5 m) onto a tree branch.
They can leap horizontally 40 feet (12.1 m)!
- The weight record for the leopard, a member
of the genus Panthera, is 233 pounds (105 kg). Some
cougars, however, can weigh over 300 pounds (135 kg)!
- After a cougar has eaten its fill, it will
bury the remains of the kill and save it for a later date!
- Although capable of many vocalizations,
cougars cannot roar. Their most familiar call sounds much
like a human scream!
|
Woodland
Park Zoo no longer exhibits cougars. Other cats seen at the
Trail of Adaptations include the clouded leopard
and Sumatran tiger.
There are fewer than 50 Florida panthers (Puma
concolor coryi) left in the wild, and they are listed as critically
endangered. The Costa Rican puma (Puma concolor costaricensis)
and eastern puma (Puma concolor couguar) are also listed
as endangered.** To a lesser degree, cougar populations are vanishing
from large areas throughout the Western Hemisphere. As humans move
into established cougar territories for agricultural and residential
purposes, negative human/cougar encounters increase. Cougars consider
livestock and pet animals as prey. Cougar attacks escalate as humans
build homes and recreate in once remote cougar habitat. As a result,
these predators are increasingly viewed as dangerous pests that
must be exterminated. To control their numbers, some states allow
cougars to be legally hunted with the use of dogs.
The removal
of cougars, however, has a detrimental effect on nature's intricate
balance. Where cougars are eliminated, populations of prey animals
(such as deer) expand. As prey numbers increase, limited vegetation
is soon overgrazed. As adequate food supplies diminish, deer and
other prey animals starve at massive levels. At the human level,
animals that were once eaten by cougars and other predators destroy
crops.
How You Can Help!
The effort to save endangered animals requires cooperation and support
at the international, national, regional and individual levels.
You can help in this cause. Join and become active in Woodland
Park Zoo and other conservation organizations of your choice. Limit
the construction of roads into pristine areas that allow human
access into remote cougar habitat. Contact your elected representatives
and express your views about conservation of endangered species
and wild habitats.
Contact Woodland Park Zoo at webkeeper@zoo.org to find out ways you can support conservation programs
at the zoo. Learn more about endangered cats by contacting the
IUCN Cat Specialist Group at their Web site.
Discover other ways you can help conserve wildlife and the habitats
they require for survival by visiting our How You Can Help page.
Sources and Suggested Reading
Alderton, David. 1993. Wild Cats of the World. Facts on File,
Inc. New York, NY. 192 p.
Kitchener, Andrew. 1991. The Natural History
of the Wild Cats. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithica, NY.
280 p.
Landau, Diana, ed. 1996. Clan of the Wild Cats.
Walking Stick Press. The Nature Company, Florence, KY. 191 p.
Sleeper,
B. 1995. Wild Cats of the World.
Crown Publishing, Inc., New York, NY. 216 p.
For Kids!
Clutton-Brock, Juliet. 1991. Cat. Eyewitness
Books, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, NY. 64 p.
Wexo, John Bonnett.
1998. Little Cats. Zoobooks,
Wildlife Education, Ltd., San Diego, CA. 16 p.
* Taxonomic classification varies between
references. Classification information used in this fact sheet was
taken from Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic And Geographic
Reference, edited by Don E. Wilson and Dee Ann M. Reeder, Second
Edition, 1993. |
Classification
and Range
