Also known as the cougar, puma, and panther, the mountain lion (Felis concolor) is the largest species in the genus Felis, averaging about the same size as the leopard. Mature body weights of males range between 67-103 kg, and females between 36-60 kg, with the smallest animals usually found in tropical regions and the largest in the higher latitude, cold environments.

With the exception of man, the mountain lion has the greatest range of all mammals in the Western Hemisphere. It ranges from southern Yukon and Nova Scotia to southern Chile and Patagonia, thriving in montane coniferous forests, lowland tropical forests, swamps, grassland, dry brush country, or any other area with adequate cover and prey. The mountain lion hunts over a large area, often taking up to a week to complete a full circuit of its home range. Mountain lions inhabiting regions with significant altitudinal ranges typically have contiguous winter-spring and summer-autumn home areas, with the latter at generally higher elevations, which correlates with the migratory patterns of large ungulates such as mule deer and elk. Indeed, the primary prey species of the mountain lion is deer. On the Uncompahgre Plateau and in most of the West, mule deer is of course the primary prey, while white-tailed deer are targeted in much of the rest of North America still containing mountain lions. Kill frequencies vary from one deer every three days for a female with cubs, to one deer every 16 days for a lone adult. In a study done in Idaho, it was shown that mountain lions are equally dependent on both mule deer and elk.

Mountain lions seem to have a well-defined social system, and their populations appear to be controlled by these social interactions more so than by prey abundance. Male territories overlap very little, while female territories may overlap completely. Young transient animals of both sexes move through resident areas freely. A land tenure system seems to exist based on prior right. Transient animals cannot occupy a resident’s territory until the resident animal dies. Dispersal and mortality among young individuals which are unsuccessful at occupying a territory of their own seem to limit population size.

Except during the brief period of courtship, adult mountain lions are solitary. There is no well-defined breeding season, but in North America, most births take place in late winter and early spring, and most females give birth every other year. Average litter size is three to four, but can range from one to six.

Though the mountain lion is endemic to a vast range of territory, by the early twentieth century, its numbers in North America were nearly exterminated in all but the mountainous areas of the West, in southern Texas, and in Florida. It has been long persecuted for its reputation as a threat to domestic animals. Most successful hunting is done by using dogs to pursue the cat until it seeks refuge in a tree, where it is easily shot. The Florida population was reduced to only 30-50 individuals by the mid-90s. In the western mountains and in Texas, surviving numbers are believed to be approximately 16,000 individuals total. In California the mountain lion is under nearly complete protection, in Texas it can still legally be hunted at any time, and in the rest of the western states regulated hunting is permitted. About 2,100 mountain lions are killed annually for sport or predator control.

Source: Nowak, R.M., ed. 1999. Walker’s Mammals of the World, Volume 1, Sixth

Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press.