Where does puma live in nature?

In the Western Hemisphere, a royal cat is found from the Yukon to Patagonia, and it's easier, answering the question of where the puma lives in America, to answer where it does not live. Guinness book of records included this unique animal in the number of world achievements as a majestic creation of nature, which has the most names. Only in English-speaking countries the beast has more than 40 titles.

Type of feline

The vastness of the geographical regions where the puma inhabits would enable it to be attributed to the most common kind of cat. But despite the external similarity with the representatives of this family, the puma is separated into a separate genus. And in this genus included a single species with a huge number of subspecies.

The long tail, balancing in the jump, a powerful body, strong paws and a small head made the puma unique representative of a particular kind, one of the most common on earth. Residents of North and South America, from Patagonia to the Rocky Mountains, can meet this majestic animal in the forests, in the plains, in the highlands, in the marshes and even in the tropical jungle. The only thing that cougar does not like is open spaces.

The adult animal reaches a length of up to 2 m. The weight of the animal can reach 106-110 kg. The tail has a length of 0.8 m. The head of the animal is small. Such a powerful cat has very strong legs. The muzzle at her usually has a white ending.

Color and habitat

North America and its climate rewarded the puma with a silvery tint of fur. In the more southern pampas, the animal's hair acquired a predominantly golden-red hue. The Florida puma, named for its preferred habitat, is smaller than the other subspecies, but also red, with a grayish-sand tint. From the place where the cougar lives, its characteristic color also depends.

Simple and precise names

The Florida puma is on the brink of extinction and is listed in the Red Book. There was a time when there were about 20 individuals on the whole planet. The hunters of America destroyed the Wisconsin puma in 1925. Today, some subspecies of the beautiful creation of nature balance on the verge of total extinction, the reason for this - a man shooting a mountain lion, destroying the natural habitats of its habitat.

The prevalence of geographical latitudes, where one can meet representatives of a separate species, has led to the fact that in many places the animal received poetic and inaccurate names. Only some subspecies were named by their habitat. Always remember that the cougar is an animal. Where this forest beauty dwells depends on its species. The rest of the names were given to her in different regions by people admired or frightened by her power, beauty, mystery, outstanding hunting abilities.

Names are poetic and inaccurate

The opportunity to meet a formidable predator at night hunting or in the daytime, in the tender sun, gave rise to awe, fear, adoration. For example, the Appalachian Mountains, where the puma inhabits, served as the mountain lion in those places , and in the rest of America, especially in the west, where the animal was considered a symbol of the vast expanses, they called it differently:

• The mountain devil;
• The royal cat;
• Red tiger;
• Silver lion;
• The Mexican lion;
• A deer cat.

Biologists have about 30 subspecies of the red tiger, but they all live in North and South America, so the puma is still lovingly called America's largest cat. Man continues to gradually reduce the range of places where the cougar lives. The mainland of North America dubbed the puma a puma, borrowing the name of the majestic animal from the Quechua language, and in the same place almost two subspecies were destroyed.

Two continents of habitat

Beautiful and majestic, capable of dragging the carcass of an animal that has been hunted and weighing more than a hunter, the puma differs by subspecies depending on the place where it lives. The answer to the question of what kind of animal the puma, where it lives (on which continent), involves two options and two continents - North and South America. Its subspecies differ in the American habitats:

• Puma concolor browni - in Mexico.
• Puma concolor costaricensis - from Panama to Nicaragua.
• Puma concolor kaibabensis - in Utah, Nevada and Northern Arizona.
• Puma concolor osgoodi - in Bolivia, in the Andes.
• Puma concolor soderstromi, - in Ecuador and so on.

The existence of some subspecies, mostly Latin American, is known to ridiculously little. They are described by eyewitness accounts, bad and few blurry photographs and several hides. Sometimes a naturalist can determine by trophy, but where the animal lives and how the hide is obtained, it is not known.

A similar, but not so

The external similarity of the mountain lion can be seen with different animals of the cat family, and sometimes, even it is possible to get a hybrid of a puma and a leopard or to happen with an ocelot and a jaguar. But this is an artificial crossing, which does not happen in the wild, where the jaguar is one of the main enemies of the red tiger, and the latter has to avoid the habitats of the jaguar. In a certain way, the Panther and the Cougar are similar. But if you look closely, then much more puma resembles a domestic cat.

Small blind kittens

The American lion is born from 2 to 6 kittens, and like a real cat, they are small, blind and completely helpless. And although already in 9 months they can hunt independently, the female takes care of them almost up to 2 years. All this happens in the other hemisphere and in another animal world, and in different conditions, but in appearance the little pumas resemble both the ocelot, and the jaguar, and the panther, because they are born spotted. Only growing up, they acquire a characteristic color of their species, and specks disappear. It is a native inhabitant of America, and it is named in the language of the indigenous inhabitants of America - the puma. Where does he live in Russia? In Russia, it simply does not exist. Is that only in the zoo.

Even at the zoo, the cougar hides his cubs from prying eyes and takes them out for a walk only at a month old.

Food and habitat

Proud, huge, magnificent, real king cat - if necessary, can eat even snails and insects. A trifle, like marmots, small birds, coyotes, anteaters and even snakes - is not the main food, but an easy, insatiable snack.

Aborigines sincerely believed that the puma lives only where deer are found, but in certain habitats, it hunts battleships. On the hunt, her favorite method is an ambush attack, and the royal cat is especially beautiful in jumping.

Puma is a predator. She hunts in various animals, from sparrows and mice to deer, bulls and monkeys. Usually the beast chooses the night time for hunting. In the afternoon, like all the representatives of the cat, she likes to bask in the sun. Pregnancy of such a cat lasts 3 months. The life of a cougar is 18-20 years.

The destructive activity of man in relation to the wild nature has led to the fact that a magnificent animal, a representative of a separate species, is in some places under the threat of complete extinction. And this is especially bitter to realize, remembering his mind, beauty, grace and uniqueness.