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He is known by many
names. American lion, cougar, deer tiger, Mexican lion, panther, mountain
lion or catamount. The male species of this large graceful cat measures a
good three meters in length, one-third of which is the tail. He has a
height of 60-75 centimeters.
He is second in size only to the jaguar. We know him better as the Puma.
The puma belongs to the
family Felidae and it gets its name from the usage made by the Inca
Indians. The puma can be found in habitats varying from the mountain
forest around sixteen thousand feet above sea level, to lowland swamp and
grasslands. They are generally found in the regions between British
Columbia and Patagonia. |
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Some physical features
and characteristics
The puma has a wide range of colors, right from pale yellow-brown to
reddish brown. And the tips of its ears and tail are dark. Its hump and
belly are generally white in color. Its voice is similar to that of the
domestic cat, the difference being in the volume of the sound.
The wild cat’s is louder.
Pumas have a life span of
ten to fifteen years. An adult puma attains maturity when it is about two
or three years old. The puma’s call at the time of mating is a harsh
scream. There is no specific period for breeding. Almost every year, a
female puma produces a litter. The gestation period of the puma is about
ninety days. The puma’s litter usually consists of one to five spotted
kittens, the average being two or three. The kittens are playful and are
ready for hunting games when they are about two months old.
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The Puma |
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Hunting habits
Although it eats a wide range of food, its favorites, especially
those found in North America, appears to be the deer.
It also kills livestock for food. Male and female pumas have
different territories for hunting. During winter, the male puma can patrol
areas more than hundred square miles, although the areas may sometimes
overlap the territories of the females. The females prefer smaller ranges
of patrol. The puma is possessive about its area. It marks the boundaries
of its territory with tree scrapes and sprays of urine.
For hunting, the puma
prefers to be on its own. Whether
it is day or night, it will catch its prey in dense undergrowth and will
leave its food there, returning to it for several days. With its huge
size, the puma finds it easy to catch even large domestic animals such as
the cow and the horse. It also hunts wild deer, sheep, rodents, rabbits,
hare and beaver.
Its hunting is
fascinating. It uses the strength of its powerful hind legs to lunge at
its prey. What is astonishing is that it lunges at its prey with single
running jumps that sometimes exceed forty feet.
Endangered subspecies
Of course, like many other wild species, the puma too is hunted by
human beings. Open pits and traps are the usual methods employed for
trapping a puma. Although the number of pumas the world over has not
alarmingly decreased, despite their being hunted by human beings, one
subspecies has been declared endangered. This is the Florida Panther found
exclusively in and around the state of Florida.
Authorities fear that there many only as few as fifty of these in
existence now. Failure in breeding the subspecies has also contributed to
the dwindling number of this species. The
eastern puma of North America has been declared an endangered species by
wildlife authorities, who fear that these species many become extinct
after about thirty years.
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