Puma – very beautiful and graceful animal. This dexterous predator from a sort cat's is one of the most skillful and dangerous hunters. Pumas quickly run and well climb trees.
Description and types of a puma
Other names of a puma – a cougar or a mountain lion. This predator was even included in the Guinness Book of Records as an animal with the greatest number of names. Only in English their more than forty.
The body at these wild cats in length can reach two meters, and height in withers usually is about a meter. The weight of an adult puma – 70-80 kg, and males is always heavier than females. The head of a puma small, rounded shape, ears – upright.
Wool at a cougar short and dense, and a color most often reddish, and an upper body is more dark than lower. On a muzzle and ears there are black marks.
At a puma very strong jaw and teeth on which usually determine the age of an animal. The puma can make different sounds:
- hisses;
- growls;
- almost like domestic cat purrs.
Massive hinder legs allow to run quickly and to climb dexterously trees, and the long and strong tail helps to keep balance during jumps. Interesting fact: on hinder legs at a cougar up to four fingers, and on lobbies on five.
Was considered earlier that there are more than 25 species of these wild cats, but now on the basis of modern genetic researches six types of a puma tied to the corresponding phylogeographical groups are allocated.
Puma very patient animal. Having got to a trap, it does not rave as it other predators from the cat family, and after several unsuccessful attempts to be released falls into melancholy and can stay not movably several days.
Puma – the dangerous hunter
Puma – very dangerous and skillful hunter. This predator has excellent sight and can hunt even in night-time.
This wild cat – the real strategist. She usually attacks from an ambush: quietly creeps to production alee and immediately jumps on a back of the victim. Then the puma breaks to production a neck or smothers her, snapping strong for a throat.
Mountain lions can make jumps up to 6 meters long and up to 3-4 meters high. Besides the puma is capable to make the flying jumps on the earth from height of 18 meters.
They gather speed to 70 km/h, but the endurance for a running at them is not enough for long distances. In search of food the puma can overcome quite long distances.
The puma most often hunts the following wild animals:
- elks;
- deer;
These predators and a livestock do not disdain. Wyoming, Colorado and Utah lives in states the kind of a puma which got the nickname Hippolestes that in translation means "the fighter of horses".
At urgent need they eat lynxes, squirrels and raccoons. Also the puma likes to regale on the battleship, managing to break its thick armor.
In a year one puma eats about 800-1300 kg of meat.
Pumas very cunning animals, they hide unfinished meat, filling up it with snow or leaves. Having got hungry, they can come back to earlier hidden production several times.
Mountain lions practically have no enemies in the wild nature. An exception – a serious disease of an animal. In this case jaguars, wolves or alligators can threaten a puma.
As for people, pumas avoid meetings with the person and very seldom commit assaults on tourists or locals.
Reproduction and care for posterity
Pumas are singles, they actively mark the territory, thereby letting know other fellows that this place is taken. Depending on population density the amount of personal possession of a puma can reach up to one thousand square kilometers.
Among themselves pumas communicate only during the marriage period. Then they leave everyone on the territory again. During mating dance the animals let out the loud mewing shouts which are heard in a radius more than 3 km.
Females reach the reproductive period at the age of about 2 years and each 2-3 years bring on average one dung.
Pregnancy at pumas continues three months. Usually wild cats give birth to from 2 to 5 cubs in one dung, each kitten weighs about 300-400 g.
Kittens of a puma differ in a special color. The hair at cubs has a brownish-gray shade with bright black spots which changes a year later.
As well as at a domestic cat, kids of a puma are born "blind people", two weeks later they open eyes. At first eyes at kittens of bright blue color, then gradually change.
To hunt small production and to eat adult food cubs of a puma begin at the age of 6 weeks, but maternal milk still enters their daily diet.
Kittens remain with mother almost up to two years. For this period they manage to seize all necessary skills for survival and hunting.
Then cubs of a mountain lion move off in searches of own hunting grounds though they at first can keep groups with brothers and sisters.
Life expectancy of cougars makes about twenty years.
Puma as a pet
Recently became fashionable to get wild animals as pets. It not the correct decision which can turn back a trouble, especially for the people far from knowledge of the world of the wild nature.
Before getting a puma of the house it is necessary to know:
- all subtleties of maintenance of a wild animal in bondage;
- to give the report to the real financial and physical capacities;
- in advance to study information on an animal;
- to receive all permits;
- to consult with experts (manufacturers).
Live in zoos of a puma quite well, long and even bring posterity. The main thing is to provide them necessary conditions and competent leaving.
Natural habitats of a puma
Before emergence on the American continent of a puma lived in all forest and mountain areas of the New World - from the northwest of Canada to the Strait of Magellan and from the Atlantic Ocean to Silent.
Now the puma lives in South and North America and inhabits very big area: from Canada to Patagonia. She lives mainly in mountainous areas and quietly feels at height. Also the puma can be met in coniferous and tropical forests. In the Chilean Cordilleras the puma can rise by height up to 3000 meters. Wild cats with ease move on rocks and hillsides, well climb trees and are able to swim. The mountain lion can adapt to life practically in any area.
They choose places for life and hunting where there live deer – their main production.
At the beginning of the 20th century the population of mountain lions sharply decreased, for the killed individual even very solid award relied.
Officially hunting for a puma is forbidden. It is a necessary measure for restoration of number of animals. However often there are violations of the law and pumas continue to exterminate because of the harm to farming and cattle breeding done by them. Later time it turned out to return the number of pumas practically on the previous level.
What is remarkable, extermination of these predatory animals turns against people. As a result of hunting for pumas the natural balance is broken and sharply the number of battleships (favourite food of pumas) increases. Battleships dig holes, the cattle goes in them and breaks a leg. As a result cattle-farmers incur huge losses.
Most of all the Florida subspecies of pumas who differ in the smaller size and lighter coloring suffered. Initially Florida puma lived from Texas to southeast states. Now its area is limited to the Southern Florida.
The general population of a Florida puma by the beginning of the 1980th years was estimated approximately at 300 individuals. In 2003 this look was included in the Red List.