Mountain Lion/Cougar
Mountain Lion/Cougar
DesertUSA.com
Powerful, graceful and supremely adaptable, the mountain lion - or, cougar, panther, puma, catamount or painter - laid claim to a range that encompassed most of the New World, from the snowy fields of the Yukon to the forested coastal mountains of Tierra del Fuego and from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the Atlantic. It occupied more territory and more environmental niches than any other land mammal (other than the Homo sapien) in the Western Hemisphere.
Appearance and Anatomy of Mountain Lions
Shape: similar to short-haired house cat, with a relatively small head, shortened face, small and rounded ears, elongated body, and long neck and tail
Typical Length: males, about eight to as much as nine feet from the nose to the tip of its tail, and females, about six to seven feet
Typical Shoulder Height: two to two and one-half feet
Usual Weight: males, 125 to 160 pounds, and females, 80 to 100 pounds
Color: Tawny to rufous to buff to bluish gray along the back and sides with lighter colored belly, throat and inner legs and with a black-bracketed nose and a dark-tipped tail
Hunting Attributes: powerful legs suited for rapid acceleration and pouncing and teeth designed for seizing, slashing and tearing
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