Mountain Lion

Mountain lions are also known as Cougars and Pumas. True to their name, mountain lions live in the mountains from Canada all the way down to Argentina. Even though mountain lions are the biggest felines in North America they are not considered to be in the big cat family because they cann't roar. Also mountain lions have big back legs that are so big that they cann't ponce, but they can jump up to 20 feet. 

 

Mountain lions are solitary animals and are territorial. They have a life expectancy for 12 years. They will live alone unless they are mating or the female is bringing up the cubs. Their territorial range will go from 10 square miles to 370 square miles. Mountain lions travel long distances to search for food and they mainly eat mice, squirrels, porcupines, raccoons, rabbits, beavers, and deer. They have 2-4 cubs and the cubs are born with spots that help them camouflage from predators. 

Mountain lion's preditors are wolves, bears, and other mountain lions. Their main predators are humans, people are building on their habitat and hunting them for their fur. Mountain lions have attacked humans but mainly because they feel threatened. There are about 30,000 mountain lions in western USA and are not endangered as a species, mainly due to the fact that they are adaptable. But the Florida Panther, a subspecies of the mountain lion, are critically endangered and there is about 100 of them left.

Credits:

Hoagland, Cody S. "Basic Facts About Mountain Lions." Mountain Lion. Defenders of Wildlife, 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

 "Puma." (Felis Concolor). A-Z, 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Cheetah

Cheetahs are in the big cat family and mainly live in eastern to southwestern Africa. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the land and can reach the speeds of 70mph. They hunt during the day in open grasslands where their running ability is an advantage. With their keen eye sight and camouflage spots and their speed they make excellent hunters. Their hunts usally consist of the cheetahs stalking the prey until it gets within 50 meters of it then chases it at full sped. The chases usally last less then a minute. It leaves the cheetah exaused and vulenrable. Cheetahs mostly hunt gazelle, but will also eat hares, other kinds of antelope, warthogs, and birds. 

Cheetahs are often are mistaken for leopards because of the spots on their coat. Cheetahs can be told apart from leopards by the black marks running down from their eyes which are called teardrops. Cheetah cubs will stay with their mother for one and a half to two years. The male cubs will stick together and the females will go off on their own. Cheetahs have the life expectancy of ten to twelve years in the wild. 

Cheetahs are on the endangered species list! there is only about 10,000 of them left. The main reason to their dwindling numbers is human predators. Farmers kill cheetahs because they are a threat to their live stock. Also their grasslands are going away because people are building new settlements. Poachers also kill cheetahs for their pelts. 

Credits:

 "Cheetah Conservation Fund." Cheetah Fact Sheet. Cheetah Conservation Fund, 2002. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.<www.cheetah.org/?nd=cheetah_facts>

 "Cheetah." National Geographic. N.p., 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.<animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cheetah>