It can be receive about south Andes for the South usa on Canadian Yukon. It can be the widest of every wild terrestrial mammal through the the brand new West Hemisphere.
Because of its wealth, it has been understood by various brands, such slope lion, puma, painter, panther, and you will catamount.
The fresh new cougar is known to be another-premier extant cat on “” new world “” following the jaguar. It’s a secretive and you will mainly single creature, and it is regarded as both crepuscular and you will nocturnal, though, it may be viewed during the day.
The newest cougar is very just like quicker felines, including the home-based cat than just about any varieties regarding subfamily Pantherinae (from which the new jaguar ‘s the merely still existing user).
This new cougar hunts of the ambushing the victim, and it also has actually a multitude of victim. Their top diet is out-of ungulates, particularly deer. In addition preys into quicker varieties such as for instance rodents or insects. It can conform to any habitat but prefers environment having rocky elements and thick underbrush to have stalking.
New cougar are a territorial animal and it survives with the reasonable population densities. Brand new territory size of a good cougar utilizes the plant life, surface, enough target.
The brand new cougar actually constantly the predator, it’s competition of which they surrenders they kills. For example pet range from the jaguar, grizzly carries, Western black colored carries, Western alligators, sets of coyotes, and you may gray wolves.
They mainly avoids contact with human beings, while it might survive during the discover section. Although, fatal symptoms on humans is unusual, there were profile showing a rise in America due to the people typing cougar area to build structures such as for instance facilities.
Cougars choose to alive a longevity of unmarried except for people cougars, and that accept the offsprings getting a specific period of time.
Subspecies group
- P. c. concolor included in South usa, and possibly leaving out the region northwest of one’s Andes.
- P. c. couguar included in Central and The united states, and perhaps the fresh new northwestern section of South usa.
Advancement
Your family Felidae was believed to have originated in China on the eleven million years ago (mya). An excellent genomic lookup towards the Felidae mean that the typical predecessor of today’s Puma, Leopardus, Prionailurus, Lynx, and you can Felis lineage moved across the Bering land bridge into the Americas 8.0 – 8.5 mil in years past (mya).
The latest ancestry gradually diverged, leaving this new North american felids to consume South usa doing 2 so you’re able to 4 mil in years past (mya) included in the great American Interchange. This then followed adopting the development of Isthmus out-of Panama.
Particular profile indicate that 10,000 years ago, when you look at the Pleistocene extinction, new Us cougar population try eliminated. New disappearance out-of almost every other highest animals such as the Smilodon, flat way for new Western cougar to repopulate the North america.
Features
The head of an excellent cougar was round and its particular ears is actually erect. Their effective shoulder, forequarters, and you will mouth are designed to keep otherwise master large target. This has four retractable claws toward the hind paws and you will four on their forepaws.
The higher side base and you can claws certainly are the results of version to help you clutching target. Cougars are agile and you will thin family members Felidae.
It’s one of the four largest pet kinds around the globe. People sit throughout the 24 – thirty five inside the (60 in order to 90 cm) tall in the shoulders. Adult men remain seven.9 ft (2.4 yards) long off nose to tail tip, and you may female’s average is actually 6.eight feet (2.05 m), with complete selections between cuatro.9 – nine.0 legs (1.fifty – 2.75 yards) nostrils so you can end thought with the variety in general. Of length, the fresh new tail is actually accounted for 25 – 37 during the (63 – 95 cm).