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kids / animal-facts
Animal facts |
Select an Animal :
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| Fast Facts: Cougar
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| Species name: |
Felis concolor (“cat of one colour”) |
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| Average weight: |
60-100 kilograms (male)
35-60 kilograms (female) |
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| Life expectancy: |
10-12 years (in the wild)
21 years (in captivity) |
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Did you know?
The average sprinting speed of a cougar is 56
kilometres an hour!
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Physiology
The cougar is the second largest wild cat found in the Americas,
the largest being the South American Jaguar. It has a very muscular body that varies in
colour from tawny red to dark brown. The throat, chest, chin and whiskers are white.
Cougars are known for their large front paws and long tail, which is used for balance and
can grow to a length of 90 centimetres. Cougars have extremely powerful hind legs, which
make them excellent jumpers. A cougar can jump straight up 5.5 metres from the ground.
Habitats/Behaviours
Cougars tend to roam in areas where they won't be seen, such as rocky mountains or dark
forests. They don't usually attack humans unless they feel cornered or threatened. A worthy
predator, cougars have a field of vision that spans 130 degrees and can kill an animal four
times its size because of its muscular form and stealth. After an attack, it usually buries
the carcass and returns later for addition meals.
In one jump, a cougar can launch forward up to nine meters, easily carrying the agile animal
over canyon mouths or rocky outcroppings. The average sprinting speed of a cougar is 56
kilometres an hour!
Range
The cougar has one of the largest ranges of any mammal in the western hemisphere. Because
of this, the cougar is called around 40 different names, such as puma, mountain lion, and
panther.
Most of the cougar population may be found in western Canada, but it has been seen across
the Prairies, southern Ontario, Quebec and New
Brunswick.
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