Cougars

Basic Facts About Cougars

Cougars are actually members of the Felidae (cat) family, and their scientific name is Puma concolor, which means “cat of one color” in Latin!

Cougars have the largest range of any wild land mammal in the Americas, living from Canada all the way down to the southern tip of South America!

A male cougar can weigh as much as 220 pounds (100 kg) — that’s about the same as three third-grade students combined!

Adult female cougars are called “queens,” male cougars are called “toms,” and baby cougars are called “kittens” or “cubs”!

Cougars are classified as mammals (Class: Mammalia), in the order Carnivora and family Felidae, making them related to house cats!

The cougar goes by many names including puma, mountain lion, panther, and catamount — that’s more nicknames than any other wild cat!

Female cougars typically weigh between 80–120 pounds (36-54 kg), while males are larger at 115–220 pounds (52-100 kg)!

Cougars are carnivores, which means they eat only meat and are important predators in their ecosystems!

In the wild, cougars typically live 8–13 years, but in captivity, they can live up to 20 years!

Physical Characteristics

Cougars can jump up to 40 feet (12 meters) horizontally — that’s longer than a school bus!

A cougar’s tail can be up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) long and helps them balance when they’re climbing trees or jumping!

Cougars have special paw pads that act like built-in snow boots, helping them walk silently through any terrain!

Adult male cougars can grow up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) long from nose to tail tip, while females are usually between 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 meters). That’s about as long as a bed, or nearly the height of a basketball hoop!

Cougars have excellent night vision and can see up to six times better in the dark than humans!

A cougar’s whiskers are as wide as its body, helping it determine if it can fit through tight spaces!

Cougars can’t roar like lions, but they can purr like house cats when they’re happy!

A cougar’s retractable claws can grow up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) long — about the length of your thumb!

Cougars have specially designed rough tongues with tiny hooks that help them clean their fur and scrape meat from bones!

A cougar’s powerful leg muscles allow them to leap up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) vertically from a sitting position — that’s higher than a two-story house!

Cougars have special reflective cells in their eyes called tapetum lucidum that make their eyes shine in the dark!

A cougar’s nose has about 200 million scent receptors — that’s about 20 times more than humans have!

A cougar’s heart makes up about 0.6% of its body weight — twice the relative size of a human heart!

The cougar’s tan or brownish-gray coat helps it blend perfectly with rocks and dried grasses in its habitat!

Cougars have 30 teeth, including four long canine teeth that can be up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) long!

A cougar’s powerful jaws can open wide to help it catch and hold onto prey, much wider than a human’s jaw!

Cougars have a special adaptation called a “flehmen response” where they curl back their upper lip to better smell scents!

A cougar’s shoulder blades are attached to their skeleton by muscles, not bones, giving them greater flexibility when running and climbing.

Behavior & Intelligence

Cougars are mostly active at dawn and dusk, which scientists call being “crepuscular”!

Each cougar has its own unique territory that can be as large as 370 square miles (958 square kilometers) — that’s bigger than New York City!

Cougars communicate using at least 12 different types of calls, including chirps, whistles, growls, hisses, purrs, and screams!

Mother cougars teach their cubs to hunt through a series of games and practice sessions that can last for months!

Cougars mark their territory by scratching trees and leaving scent marks, creating a kind of natural map for other cougars!

Unlike many big cats, cougars don’t like water but are excellent swimmers when they need to cross rivers or lakes!

Cougars can run at speeds up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour — almost as fast as a quick racehorse!

Young cougars stay with their mother for up to two years, learning all the skills they need to survive on their own!

Cougars are so smart, they can remember and avoid areas where they’ve had negative experiences for several years!

Cougars can make a high-pitched whistling sound that sounds similar to a bird call!

When hunting, cougars use their tail like a rudder to help them make sharp turns at high speeds!

Cougars have been known to bury their food under leaves or dirt, and return to it later, creating natural “refrigerators”!

Cougars spend up to 70% of their day resting, saving their energy for hunting!

Male cougars sometimes share food with females and cubs, though they don’t help raise the young!

Cougars are excellent climbers, and they sometimes sleep in trees for safety!

Young cougars play games that help them develop hunting skills, just like kittens playing with toys!

Cougars are so stealthy that their prey often doesn’t see or hear them until it’s too late!

Habitat & Survival

Cougars can live in almost any type of habitat, from desert to tropical forest, and from sea level to 19,000 feet (5,800 meters) in the mountains!

Cougars don’t build dens, but instead find natural shelters like caves or dense bushes to rest and raise their young!

A single cougar might travel up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) in one night while hunting!

Cougars can survive in temperatures ranging from -33°F (-36°C) to 120°F (49°C)!

Cougars help control deer populations, which helps keep forests healthy by preventing overgrazing!

Unlike many wild cats, cougars can adapt to living near human communities, though they prefer to avoid people!