Interesting Facts About Cougars

December 15, 2009 | In: Animal facts for kids

If you went to the zoo and asked to see a cougar, a puma, a mountain lion, a panther, a painter, a catamount, an American lion, a deer tiger, a brown tiger, an American ghost, a mountain devil and a night screamer, you might be surprised at how little time it would take you to see all of these wild cats. That’s because these are all names for the same animal.

The cougar, or Felis concolor, meaning “cat of one colour,” is the fourth largest cat in the world.

Cougars are also known as pumas.

Cougars are native to Asia, America and Africa.

Cougars lifespan in the wild is up to 18 years.

It is the heaviest cat in America, second only to the jaguar. Worldwide, it is the fourth heaviest cat with the other big cats like the tiger, lion and jaguar ahead in the race.

Cougars are great jumpers. They cat leap vertically over 16 feet, and horizontally more than 45 feet.

An adult cougar can range in length from 42 to 54 inches, with a 3-foot-long tail. Adult males weigh up to 200 pounds, and adult females up to 120 pounds.

Although it can cover short distances nearly as fast as a cheetah, a cougar prefers to stealthily creep up on its prey — usually a deer — until it is close enough to leap onto the deer’s back and break its neck with powerful jaws.

Largest cougar recorded: 125.5 kilograms (Arizona cougar) .

The highest numbers of attacks by Cougars on humans occur in the infamous ‘Cougar Island’ in British Columbia.