THE KNOWLEDGE TOOLBOX
Cougar Crossing: How to tell when
you’re in cougar country
By Lindsay Foss
If you are travelling in the southwestern regions of Canada, down the Rocky
states of North America or throughout the westernmost parts of the South American
continent, then you may find yourself in cougar country.
But how can you be certain you have stumbled into the territory of this large
cat?
Below we will describe just what to look for, from the cougar’s characteristics
and behaviour, to its tracks and scat. By cultivating our knowledge about cougars,
we may be able to prevent an unexpected meeting with this member of the feline
family.
As the second largest wild cat in North America, next to the jaguar, the cougar
generally grows to an average length of 152 to 274 centimetres and can weigh
anywhere from 36 to 123 kilograms. The deep-chested body is lithe, compact and
muscular. When seen in profile, the cougar’s hindquarters are noticeably higher
than the shoulders.
Cougars have a distinctive long tail, used for balance, which can range anywhere
from 50 to 90 centimetres long.
Adult colouring of the coat varies from tawny red to grey to chocolate brown.
The belly is a light buff colour, while the chest, throat, chin, and whiskers
are white. The backs of the ears and the tip of the tail are black.
BEHAVIOUR AND HABITAT
The cougar is predominantly nocturnal and is active during all seasons. Each occupies an
established home range and marks the boundaries by leaving scratch marks-15 to 25 centimetres
long-on trees. A cougar will leave scrapes-piles of debris marked with urine or feces-as
another form of territory markings.
Cougar scat has rounded ends and is comparable to the size of a large dog’s
scat. It is segmented and most often contains remnants of hair from its prey.
The cougar has one of the most extensive ranges of any mammal in the western
hemisphere and can adapt to many different types of habitat. In western Canada,
the cougar makes its home in semiarid canyons, rocky foothills, and forests.
There are many variables that affect the size of the cougar’s home range, including
sex, age, season, and the abundance of prey. Males are known to cover up to 50
kilometres of their range in a single day.
DIET
Being a carnivore, the cougar tends to make a meal of anything that moves on land. It will
generally devour mice, beaver, squirrels, rabbits, raccoon, and moose. However, deer are
their preferred cuisine.
Cougars can kill an animal four times its size, most often by suffocating it
with a protracted bite across the throat, resulting in the collapse of the trachea.
Larger kills are usually covered with soil or brush after being partially consumed.
The cougar will return to the carcass afterwards for supplementary meals.
VOICE
Cougars generate a variety of sounds, the most startling of which is a piercing, drawn-out
scream, which is often territorial.
Those fortunate enough to have heard this extraordinary sound, describe it
as nerve-wracking, terror-striking and demoniac.
Like many household cats, the cougar also mews, hisses, spits, and growls.
To attract their mother, kittens will emanate a whistle-like sound.
FOOTPRINTS
Cougar prints measure about eight centimetres in diameter and show four toes and a clear,
three-lobed heel pad. Due to the weight of this animal, a deep impression of the prints
are left behind on the terrain.
When walking, the stride of the cougar is about 50 centimetres-the prints will
show the hind feet partially overlapping the prints of the forefeet.
Cougars are solitary animals. However, if there is evidence of more than one
set of cougar tracks together, it is likely that a female is travelling with
her kittens.
Large feet are a characteristic shared throughout the cougar species. The front
feet are larger than the hind feet and since the claws are retractable, the tracks
rarely show any evidence of them.
In snowy areas, a distinctive trait of the cougar track is tail marks on either
side of the footprints on the surface of the snow.
IF YOU SEE A COUGAR:
- Never approach a cougar, and be sure to leave plenty of room for them to escape easily.
This prevents them from feeling cornered.
- If the cougar does not leave, yell and scream, while waving your arms in
the air. This will show the animal you are assertive and convince them you
are not prey.
- DO NOT bend over to pick up objects to throw. This will only make you appear
small and weak.
- In the case of a cougar attack, fight back! Use whatever is around you to
defend yourself and prevent serious injury, or worse.
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