Puma

True Wild Life | Puma | Puma is simply another name for a cougar and therefore one of the largest and ruthless members of the cat family in the world. The puma is native to the Americas and can be found from Western Canada, to the Andes mountain range in South America and all along the west coast of North America.

The puma is a solitary mammal and will compete for prey with larger predators such as wolf packs and bears. The puma hunts deer, elk, beavers and other large mammals and the occasional bird.

Pumas tend to be tan or brown in colour and their size is often dependent on the area in which they live. Those pumas found in Canada and North America are generally slightly larger and have thicker fur than the pumas found in South America, as the uncompromising winters mean that the northern puma must have more defense against the cold.

Pumas are highly territorial and tend to be found in mountain ranges and in some areas where there is dense, undisturbed forest. The puma population day is declining mainly due to habitat loss.

Cougar

True Wild Life | Cougar | The cougar is native to the Americas, particularly south America and western North America and is often known by other names such as mountain lion, puma and panther. Cougars can be found mainly in the mountain regions of Canada and Mexico, but as the name cougar is often used to describe an un-spotted leopard, cougars are also found in Asia and Africa. The cougar is the fourth biggest feline in the world behind the lion, tiger and jaguar, making the cougar the second largest cat in the Americas. The cougar has longer back than front legs and a long heavy body.

Cougars prey on large mammals such as moose, deer, elk and stray wolves and can often go for long periods of time without food. Cougars are also well known for their amazing ability to jump up to 30ft. Cougars tend to have between 1 and 4 cubs, generally during the spring and summer time when the adult cougars are hunting well again after the harsh winters. A cougar typically lives until its about 20 years old.

Due to the cougars vast range, the cougar is known in different places by different names. Until the late 1990s there were thought to be 32 different species of cougar inhabiting both North and South America. Recent studies however, have shown that the DNA of the majority of the 32 cougar species was too similar. There are therefore only 5 different species of cougar found on the American continent.

Today the cougar is only found in parts of Florida in North East America and the cougars range on the west coast has been dramatically reduced by human interference. The cougar is most commonly found in the Canadian Rockies and the more mountainous regions of Southern Mexico.