From Indigenous Landscapes:
Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) have the largest range of any large mammal in the Americas, with historical populations stretching from the Yukon in Canada to the Southern Andes in South America. Mountain Lions have six recognized subspecies and go by a variety of common names including Puma, Cougar, and Panther. Mountain Lions faced extreme eradication efforts from Euro-American settlers, as well as habitat destruction, and were extirpated from most of their range in the eastern United States by the end of the 19th century. Only the Florida Panther, a subspecies of Mountain Lion, clings to existence - it is estimated there are less than 160 Florida Panthers in the wild today.
Mountain Lions can inhabit nearly any habitat that provides enough food and shelter including forests, wetlands, high deserts, and mountains. They once ranged from coast to coast in North America, although Mountain Lions generally avoid expansive open areas like grasslands and extreme deserts. Male Mountain Lions typically weigh about 150lbs, although they can reach up to 220lbs, with females weighing 120lbs on average.
Home ranges are incredibly variable, with females having ranges anywhere from 20-250 sq. miles and males having 200 to over 350sq. mile ranges. Typically cougar density in North America is about 1 cougar to 39 sq. miles.
Mountain Lions are highly efficient and important predators who specialize in hunting deer. They lie in wait or stalk prey at night or during twilight, pouncing on them and often delivering a fatal bite to the neck. One study documented that cougars were successful in 37 of 45 attempted hunts. Prey include White-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, Bighorn sheep, and immature moose as well as a great variety of smaller animals including coyotes, foxes, raccoons, rabbits, ground squirrels, beavers, possums, skunks and porcupines. Energetic models predict that adult female Mountain Lions would require a deer every 16 days if she had no kittens, a deer every 9 days if she had three 3-month old kittens, and a deer every 3 days if she had three 15-month old kittens. The implications of losing Mountain Lions in the east have been great, with White-tailed deer populations out of control in many areas. This can become a nuisance to gardeners, but more profoundly the overpopulation of deer has effects on native vegetation and ecosystems since deer graze a large assortment of forbs, shrubs, and young trees.
|
