Puma

Quick Take

• Pumas are bigger than some true 'big cats,' yet science refuses to classify them as one. The reason why reveals a surprising twist in how big cats are actually defined. See how big cats are defined →
• North American pumas may not actually be native to North America, and their true origin story is far stranger than it appears. Trace the puma's origin →
• Puma cubs look nothing like their parents, and there is a survival reason behind that striking difference. See how cubs develop →
• Despite losing huge swaths of their range to human expansion, pumas hold a conservation status that surprises most people, and understanding their secret weapon explains why. Explore their conservation status →

Pumas are one of the most adaptable big cats in the world, found from Canada all the way to the southern Andes. Also known as cougars, mountain lions, or panthers depending on the region, they are solitary hunters known for their speed and powerful leaps. Despite their wide range, pumas are rarely seen, preferring dense cover and a mostly nocturnal lifestyle.

3 Amazing Puma Facts

• Pumas are impressively athletic and are capable of leaping distances of more than 25 feet.
• Despite their shrinking range, their conservation status is Least Concern due to their adaptability.
• Despite their size, they are not considered ‘Big Cats’ because they belong to the subfamily Felinae rather than Pantherinae.

Evolution

The ancestor of the puma is believed to have made its way from Asia to North America about 8 million years ago, via the Bering land bridge. This event is believed to have occurred 3 million years after the animal first appeared in Asia.

On arrival, it gave rise to the Felis (wild and domestic cats, which would expand to Africa, Asia, and Europe), Leopardus (ocelots, margays, oncillas, and other South American wild cats), Lynx (the Canadian, Eurasian, and Iberian lynxes), Puma (mountain lions), and Prionailurus (Asian leopard cats). 

 Between 2 and 4 million years later, these felines would make their way to South America by way of the Isthmus of Panama. 

It is worth noting that certain experts believe that the North American population of pumas eventually dwindled and that present-day cougars are actually arrivals that retraced their steps from South America to North America at a later date.

Classification

The Puma is a large, reclusive cat predominantly found in the mountains from southern Canada to the tip of South America. Also commonly known as the Cougar and the Mountain Lion, Pumas are able to reach larger sizes than some ‘big’ cat individuals, but despite their large size, they are believed to be more closely related to smaller feline species.

Due to their extensive distribution, the number of recognized Puma subspecies is contested, with historical descriptions listing as many as 32 and modern genetic analysis suggesting as few as 6, though all tend to vary slightly in color and occasionally size. The Puma is thought to be one of the most adaptable felines on the American continents, as it is found in a variety of different habitats, and unlike numerous Cat species, the Puma has no markings on its fur, leading to its scientific name Puma concolor, which means ‘cat of one color’.

Anatomy and Appearance

Because most Pumas are found in more mountainous regions, they have a thick coat of fur which helps keep them warm in the freezing winters. Depending on the subspecies and location, the Puma’s fur varies in colour from brown-yellow to gray-red, with those individuals found in colder regions being more gray and those found in warmer areas having more of a red tinge to their fur.

The Puma is an incredibly powerful predator and has muscular hind legs that are slightly longer and stronger than the front, which makes them more agile when leaping. They also have enormous paws, which are very large in comparison to their body size. The Puma has large, wide-set eyes that not only enable it to see what is ahead of it, but they can also see for some distance to the sides. They have pointed ears, and their acute hearing allows them to detect prey even when it is too dark for them to see.

Distribution and Habitat

The Puma is found in the mountains throughout South and North America, where it inhabits rocky crags and slightly lower pastures. Although these seem to be the Puma’s preferred habitats, they are extremely adaptable animals that can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests, tropical jungle, grasslands, and even in more arid desert regions. However, with expanding human settlements and land clearance for agriculture, the Puma is being pushed into smaller pockets of its historically vast range, retreating into more hostile mountain environments that are further away from people. It is widely believed, however, that the Puma’s adaptability has been vital in ensuring that it doesn’t disappear from the wild forever.

Behavior and Lifestyle

The Puma is a solitary animal with the exception of the time cubs spend with their mother. Pumas patrol large home ranges in search of food, which vary from 80 square miles in the summer to 40 in the winter, when the falling snow restricts access to a number of mountain areas. Some regions can become so hostile that Pumas migrate from the mountain forests and go down into the valleys to escape the worst of the cold.

Pumas are not only capable of easily adapting to different surroundings, but they are also able to hunt effectively during the day or night. Their strong and muscular hind legs and large paws mean that the Puma can move about amongst the rocks more quickly and with greater agility. Pumas are known to make a variety of sounds, particularly when warning another Puma away from their territory and during the mating season.

Reproduction and Life Cycles

Pumas have no specific breeding season and can breed year-round, with litters of up to 6 cubs being born after a gestation period of approximately 90 to 96 days. After mating, the male and the female part company, and he will continue to mate with other females for the duration of the season.

Like numerous other felines, Puma cubs are born blind and are completely helpless for their first two weeks of life until their blue eyes fully open. Unlike the one-colour adult Pumas, cubs are born with spots on their fur, which help camouflage them from predators. They are able to eat solid food when they are between 2 and 3 months old and remain with their mother for 12 to 18 months. Many Pumas live to an average age of 8–12 years in the wild, but they have been known to reach 20 or more years in captivity.

Diet and Prey

The Puma is a large and powerful carnivore, hunting and eating only other animals in order to survive. The majority of the Puma’s diet consists of small animals like mice, rats, birds, fish, and rabbits that are found living in abundance on fertile mountain slopes and in lowland forests. The large size of the Puma also means that it can hunt bigger animals, including sheep, raccoons, goats, and livestock, which it catches by pouncing on them. The Puma’s agile and incredibly muscular body means that it can easily outrun many of the species that it hunts.

Predators and Threats

The Puma is one of the most dominant predators throughout much of their natural environment and is therefore rarely preyed upon by other species. It has been known, however, for Pumas that are vulnerable due to sickness or injury to be preyed upon by other large predators including bears and wolves, and even other Pumas.

The biggest threat to the Puma, however, is people who have not only hunted this large cat (mainly for its fur) but have also caused drastic habitat loss throughout much of its natural range through expanding human settlements and deforestation for agriculture. In some areas, they are also hunted by ranch owners who blame Pumas for their loss of livestock.

Interesting Facts and Features

One of the most obvious reasons why this large and powerful feline is not classified as one of the world’s ‘big’ cats is that Pumas are not able to roar. This is a feature shared with other members of the Felinae subfamily, as most wild felines outside of the Panthera group — including cheetahs and snow leopards — are also unable to roar. The powerful hind legs of the Puma are so muscular that they not only allow them to pounce on and secure their prey, but they can also leap over 25 feet from a standstill and more than 40 feet at a running leap.

One of the most famous subspecies of Puma is the Florida Panther, which is the smallest of the Puma species and also the rarest. Thought to be on the brink of extinction, this endangered animal has more of a red tinge to the fur on its back, along with a dark spot in the centre.

Relationship with Humans

The Puma is a fearsome predator, and although attacks on humans are rare, they do occur. There have been nearly 100 recorded attacks on humans, but most of these occur because the Puma has been cornered or feels threatened in some way. Rare cases of severe starvation have also led to Pumas attacking humans, although this is not that common, as people are not generally considered prey by them. Puma population numbers throughout both North and South America have been declining over the past century, mainly due to habitat loss and hunting by farmers who fear for their livestock.

Conservation Status and Life Today

Despite being pushed into smaller regions of their vast historical range, the Puma has been listed by the IUCN as an animal that is of Least Concern of becoming extinct in its natural environment in the immediate future. This is because Pumas are not only incredibly adaptable animals, but they are also quite common in the more remote mountainous regions. In fact, many feel that the pumas’ ability to adapt to several different environments is the reason the population remains as large as it is.