Mountain Lion also Called Cougar, Puma, or Panther Is Native American - Research Paper Example

Mountain Lions The mountain lion is a large mammal and a member of the cat family, which is also known as the Felidae family. The mountain lion goes by other names, such as cougar, puma, or panther. Its name is dependent on the region that the animal is found. The mountain lion is the second heaviest cat found in the Western Hemisphere, with the jaguar being the first heaviest. Despite the large size of a mountain lion, it is genetically more related to a domestic house cat than it is to an actual lion. The mountain lion is native to North and South America and has the greatest range of any large wild mammal between Yukon in Canada and the southern Andes of South America. Mountain lions are slender and are able to move quickly because of their thin frame. They are the fourth largest cat out of all the cat species. The adult mountain lion stands at approximately thirty-five inches tall at the shoulder and can get up to roughly nine feet long; female mountain lions tend to be a foot smaller then most males, but are no less agile. Male mountain lions can weigh up to as much as two hundred and twenty pounds, while females seldom exceed one hundred forty pounds. Though it is unknown why, mountain lions tend to be smaller in size and weight the closer they are to the equator and larger the closer they are to the North or South poles. The entire body of the mountain lion is designed to be completely deadly to its prey. The ears are always erect, which allows the mountain lion to better hear anything or anyone within its vicinity. The front of a mountain lion, including its neck and jaw, are powerful and serve the purpose of holding on without relenting to even the largest of prey. The front paws and claws of a mountain lion are able to hold on to prey. Not only do they have large paws, but their hind legs are the largest in the entire cat family. This helps a mountain lion jump great heights, allowing them to make vertical leaps at almost eighteen feet and horizontal jumps up to forty feet (Hansen 17). Mountain lions can run up to forty-five miles per hour (Hansen 19), though they are more capable of shorter sprints than excessive chases. They are able to climb and, unlike many other cats in the feline family, can tolerate water long enough to swim. One of the more dangerous qualities of mountain lions is that they are unable to roar. They lack the larynx and hyoid apparatus that larger cats have. They are capable of making hissing noises and growls, and even screams, but the inability to make louder noise, mixed with their agility, makes it harder for their prey to notice. Mountain lions are not as muscular and powerfully built as jaguars, but this also works out to the advantage of mountain lions. Their smaller size is what makes it easier for mountain lions to move with such speed. This allows them more opportunity to catch their prey. The diet of the mountain lion is fairly typical of the cat family. Mountain lions are obligate carnivore, which means that they need to eat a lot of meat to be able to survive. However, mountain lions will eat whatever animal they are able to catch and kill, anything from insects to much larger animals. Common prey for mountain lions are various types of deer, such as elk and even moose, which is excessively larger than the average mountain lion. They are also known to eat wild and domestic horses, Bighorn Sheep, and domestic livestock, such as sheep. The most common meat is deer, though mountain lions in Florida have been known to eat armadillos and wild hogs. Seasons and weather patterns play a large role in the types of animals that mountain lions are able to prey on. A lot of their prey tends to hibernate during the winter, so they must depend on other animals for their food. The lifespan of a mountain lion averages between eight and thirteen years, though it is more common for them not to exceed ten years. Some mountain lions have been found that ranged in age between eighteen and thirty years, but this is a rare occurrence. In captivity, mountain lions can live up to twenty years. During these timespans, female mountain lions give birth to a new litter, which consists of up to six cubs, roughly every two to three years once they have reached the age of three (Busch 498). Outside of conception, males do not play any role in the raising of mountain lion cubs; it is strictly a female’s job. Female mountain lions are extremely protective of their cubs, which is primarily due to their being blind when they are born. Cubs are born with spots but they lose them as they get older. The mother and cubs stay together until the cubs reach the age of sexual maturity, then they leave their mother. As previously mentioned, the mountain lion has the largest range of any wild animal found in North and South America. It is one of only three species that is native to Canada. The reason that the mountain lion has such a large range is because it is able to adapt to nearly every type of habitat. It can live in forests, mountains, and deserts. A large part of this is due to the wide availability of food that can sustain a mountain lion. They are more commonly found in areas of canyons, rocks, and dense brush, as these locations make it easier to hide and stalk their prey. Despite their normal locations, recent evidence has shown that mountain lions have been spotted in more suburban areas, such as Chicago, a residential neighborhood in Wisconsin, and on busy freeways in Connecticut and South Dakota. Many other sightings, both confirmed and unconfirmed, suggest that mountain lions are gradually moving out of their more natural habitats for more human-populated areas, though specialists are unable to determine the cause. Works Cited Busch, Robert. The Cougar Almanac: A Complete Natural History of the Mountain Lion. London: Lyons Press, 2004. Print. Hansen, Kevin. Cougar: The American Lion. Phoenix, AZ: Northland Publishers, 1992. Print. Read More