Cougar

Puma concolor

### Regions

Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay

## Habitat

### Water Area

705 m² +111 m²/ea. add'l
0 m²

### Temperature

0 m²
‒7‒43 ℃

## Social

### Fem. Bachelor

1‒2 (up to 1 male, up to 1 female)
1
1

### Sterility

3 years
Death

### Interbirth

3 months
24 months

## Taxonomy

### Order

Mammalia
Carnivora

### Genus

Felidae
Puma

The **Cougar**, known as **Puma**, **Mountain Lion**, **Panther** or **Catamount** (*Puma concolor*) is a large American feline featured in the *Planet Zoo* North America Animal Pack.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population In The Wild:** Unknown

The cougar is a large species of felid that lives in the forests, mountains, grasslands, deserts, and scrubland of Canada, the USA, Mexico, and all of South America. The cougar is also commonly known as the puma and the mountain lion. The cougar has sandy-colored fur, thick legs and a thick tail, a broad head with rounded ears, a white muzzle, and dark tear marks coming down from the eyes. Male cougars have a head-body length of 47 to 80in, a height of 23.5 to 36in at the shoulder, a tail length of 24 to 38in, and weigh between 117 and 220lb. Females have a head-body length of 35 to 72in, weigh between 64 and 141lb and have a similar height and tail length to males. The cougar is not endangered

### Social

Cougars are solitary animals that only spend time together when mating, or in the case of a mother with her cubs.

### Reproduction

Cougars can mate year-round. Females will come into oestrus every 3-4 weeks and are receptive for a period of 8 days. Male cougars have large territories that may span across several female territories. Males will attempt to mate with receptive females on their territory. When the female is in oestrus, she will scent mark and vocalize to attract a male. When a male finds a female, they will sniff each other, growling and vocalizing until the female lets him mate. Copulation lasts around a minute and the male and female may mate several times an hour, then part ways. Cougars are polygynous, the male may mate with many females but females will generally only mate with one male during each reproductive event.

After a pregnancy of 82-98 days, the female will give birth to 1-6 cubs. 3-4 on average. Cubs begin to eat solid food at 2 weeks old and are fully weaned by 40 days old. Cubs remain with their mother until they are 1-2 years old, usually until their mother becomes pregnant again. During this time she will teach them to hunt. Cougars reach sexual maturity between 18 months and 3 years old. When young adults leave their mothers, they live solitarily

## Animal Care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Frozen Blood Pumpkin · Block of Frozen Fish · Rotation Line Feeder · Piñata Zebra · Piñata Pronghorn
Climbing Frame · Cardboard Box · Gift Box · Prey-Scented Sack · Scratching Post · Scots Pine/Tamarind Scratching Tree · Sprinkler · Bubble Machine

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* The cougar has large paws and the largest hind legs of any felid species, relative to body size.
* Despite being the fourth largest cat species, cougars are not considered part of the 'big cats' as they lack the bones and organs required to roar.
* Cougars cannot roar, but they do make sounds comparable to those of domestic cats.
* Cougar cubs are born with black spots that act as camouflage; they lose this patternation at 6 months old.
* Cougars are strong swimmers able to cross lakes and rivers but like most cats prefer to stay out of the water.