Cougar

The Cougar (Puma concolor), forby kent as the puma, muntain lion, panther, or catamount, is a muckle cat o the faimily Felidae native tae the Americas. Its range, frae the Canadian Yukon tae the soothren Andes o Sooth Americae, is the greatest o ony muckle wild terrestrial mammal in the Wastren Hemisphere. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is foond in maist American habitat kynds. It is the seicont hiviest cat in the Wastren Hemisphere, efter the jaguar. Solitar bi naitur an nocturnal, the cougar is maist closely relatit tae smawer felines an is nearer genetically tae the domestic cat than true lions. A stalk-an-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety o prey. Primary fuid soorces include ungulates sic as deer, elk, moose, an bighorn sheep, as weel as domestic cattle, horse an sheep, particularly in the northren pairt o its range. It will hunt species as sma as insects an rodents an aa. This cat prefers habitats wi dense unnerbrush an rocky areas fur stalkin, but can bide in apen areas an aa. The cougar is territorial an survives at law population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, an abundance o prey. Whiles muckle, it isnae always the apex predator in its range, yieldin tae the jaguar, grey wouf, American black beir, an grizzly beir. It is reclusive an uisually avoids fowk. Fatal attacks on humans are rare, but hae been trendin upward in recent yeirs as mair fowk enter thair territory. Excessive huntin follaein European colonisation o the Americas an the ongangin human development o cougar habitat haes caused populations tae drap in maist pairts o its historical range. In particular, the cougar wis extirpatit in eastren North Americae in the beginnin o the 20t yeirhunner, except fur an isolatit subpopulation in Florida. But, in recent decades, breedin populations hae muived east intae the far wastren pairts o the Dakotas, Nebraska, an Oklahoma. Transient males hae been verified in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Upper Peninsula o Michigan, an Illinois, whaur a cougar wis shot in the city limits o Chicago an, in at least ane instance, observit as far east as Connecticut. References Freemit airtins Cougar Tracks: Hou tae identify cougar tracks in the wild The soond o a cougar screamin Archived 2012-11-24 at the Wayback Machine Felidae Conservation Fund Cougar Rewildin Foundation, formerly "Eastren Cougar Foundation" Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine Eastren Puma Research Network The Cougar Network --Uisin Science tae Unnerstaund Cougar Ecology Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine Muntain Lion Foundation – Savin Americae's Lion Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine SaveTheCougar.org Archived 2004-08-31 at the Wayback Machine: Sichtins o cougars in Michigan Fowk an Cougar/Jaguars A Guide for Coexistence Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine The Cougar Fund – Protectin Americae's Greatest Cat. A Definitive Resource Aboot Cougars] Comprehensive, non-profit 501(c)(3) steid wi extensive information aboot cougars, frae hou tae live safely in cougar kintra, tae science abstracts, huntin regulations, state-bi-state cougar management/policy info, an rare photos an videos o wild cougars.