In the Western Hemisphere, the royal cat is found from the Yukon to Patagonia, and it is easier, answering the question of where the puma lives in America, to answer where it does not live. The Guinness Book of Records included this unique animal in the world achievements as a majestic creation of nature, which has the most names. Only in English-speaking countries the beast has more than 40 names.
Feline species
The vastness of the geographical regions where the cougar lives would make it possible to classify it as the most common feline species. But despite the outward resemblance to representatives of this family, the cougar is separated into a separate genus. And this genus included a single species with a huge number of subspecies.
Long tail, balancing in a jump, powerful body, strong paws and a small head made the cougar a unique representative of a separate genus, one of the most common on earth. Residents of North and South America, from Patagonia to the Rocky Mountains, can meet this majestic animal in forests, on plains, in highlands, in swamps and even in tropical jungles. The only thing the cougar doesn't like is open spaces.
Adult animal reaches a length of up to 2 m. The weight of the animal can reach 106-110 kg. Tailhas a length of 0.8 m. The head of the animal is small. Such a powerful cat has very strong legs. Her muzzle usually has a white ending.
Color and habitat
North America and its climate have rewarded the cougar with a silvery sheen of fur. In the more southern pampas, the animal's coat has acquired a predominant golden-red hue. The Florida cougar, named for its predominant habitat, is smaller than the other subspecies, but also red, with a grayish-sandy tint. From the place where the cougar lives, its characteristic color also depends.
Uncomplicated and accurate names
The Florida cougar is on the verge of extinction and is listed in the Red Book. There was a time when there were about 20 individuals left on the entire planet. The Wisconsin cougar was destroyed by American hunters in 1925. Today, some subspecies of a beautiful creation of nature are balancing on the verge of extinction, the reason for this is a man shooting a mountain lion, destroying its natural habitats.
The prevalence of geographical latitudes where representatives of a particular species can be found has led to the fact that in many places the animal received poetic and inaccurate names. Only a few subspecies are named after their habitat. You must always remember that the cougar is an animal. Where this forest beauty lives depends on its type. Other names were given to her in different regions by people who admired or frightened her by her power, beauty, mystery, and outstanding hunting abilities.
The names are poetic andinaccurate
The opportunity to meet a formidable predator on a night hunt or during the day, in the gentle sun, gave rise to awe, delusion, adoration. For example, the Appalachian Mountains, where the cougar lives, served as the reason that in those places they call it a mountain lion, and in the rest of America, especially in the west, where this animal was considered a symbol of the vast expanses, they called it differently:
- mountain devil;
- royal cat;
- red tiger;
- silver lion;
- Mexican lion;
- deer cat.
Biologists have about 30 subspecies of the red tiger, but they all live in North and South America, so the cougar is also affectionately called the largest cat in America. Man continues to gradually reduce the area of \u200b\u200bthe places where the cougar lives. The mainland of North America dubbed the cougar the cougar, borrowing the name of the majestic animal from the Quechua language, and two subspecies were practically destroyed there.
Two continents of habitation
Beautiful and majestic, capable of dragging the carcass of an animal obtained by hunting and weighing more than a hunter, the cougar differs in subspecies depending on the place where it lives. The answer to the question of what kind of animal the cougar lives on (on which continent) suggests two options and two continents - North and South America. Its subspecies differ in American habitats:
- Puma concolor browni - in Mexico.
- Puma concolor costaricensis - from Panama to Nicaragua.
- Puma concolorkaibabensis - in Utah, Nevada and Northern Arizona.
- Puma concolor osgoodi - in Bolivia, in the Andes.
- Puma concolor soderstromi, - in Ecuador and so on.
Ridiculously little is known about the existence of some subspecies, mostly Latin American. They are described from eyewitness accounts, poor and few blurry photographs, and from several recovered skins. Sometimes a naturalist can tell from a trophy, but where the animal lives and how the skin was obtained is unknown.
Similar but different
The outward resemblance of the mountain lion can be seen with different animals of the cat family, and sometimes, it is even possible to get a hybrid of a puma and a leopard or happen it with an ocelot and a jaguar. But this is an artificial crossing, which does not happen in the wild, where the jaguar is one of the main enemies of the red tiger, and the latter is forced to avoid the habitats of the jaguar. In a certain way, the panther is similar to the cougar. But if you look closely, the cougar looks much more like a domestic cat.
Little blind kittens
The American lion has between 2 and 6 kittens and, like a real cat, they are small, blind and completely helpless. And although already at 9 months they can hunt on their own, the female takes care of them until almost 2 years old. All this happens in a different hemisphere and in a different animal world, and in different conditions, but in appearance, small cougars resemble an ocelot, a jaguar, and a panther, because they are born spotted. Only when they grow up do they acquire the characteristic color of their species, andthe spots disappear. This is a native inhabitant of America, and it is named in the language of the native inhabitants of America - puma. Where does he live in Russia? In Russia, it simply does not exist. Maybe only in the zoo.
Even in the zoo, the puma hides its cubs from prying eyes and takes them out for a walk only at the age of one month.
Food and habitat
Proud, huge, gorgeous, real royal cat - if necessary, can even eat snails and insects. Small things like marmots, small birds, coyotes, anteaters, and even snakes are not a main meal, but a light, insatiable snack.
Aborigines sincerely believed that the cougar lives only where deer are found, but in certain habitats it hunts armadillos. When hunting, her favorite method is ambush, and the jumping queen looks especially great.
Puma is a predator. She hunts animals of various sizes, from sparrows and mice to deer, bulls and monkeys. Usually the animal chooses night time for hunting. During the day, like all felines, she loves to bask in the sun. The pregnancy of such a cat lasts 3 months. The life expectancy of a cougar is 18-20 years.
Destructive human activity in relation to wildlife has led to the fact that a magnificent animal, a representative of a separate species, is in some places under the threat of complete extinction. And it is especially bitter to realize, remembering his mind, beauty, grace and originality.
