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.