Pumas are large, secretive cats and are commonly known as cougar, panther, red tiger, deer tiger and mountain lion. They are able to reach larger sizes than some other “big” cat individuals. Despite their large size, they are thought to be more closely related to smaller feline species. The seven subspecies of pumas all have similar characteristics, but tend to vary in color and size. Pumas are thought to be one of the most adaptable of felines on the American continents, because they are found in a variety of different habitats, unlike other various cat species. The pumas found in Guyana are very captivating and interesting, read on to learn about them.
Features Of The Puma
- Head – The heads of these cats are round, with erect ears. They have powerful forequarters, necks, and jaws which help grasp and hold prey.
- Fur Coat – The majority of pumas are found in more mountainous regions, so they have a thick fur coat to help retain body heat during freezing winters. Depending on subspecies and the location of their habitat, the puma’s fur varies in color from brown-yellow/ tawny-golden to grey-red. Individuals that live in colder climates have coats that are greyer than individuals living in warmer climates with a redder color to their coat.
- Legs & Claws – Pumas are incredibly powerful predators with muscular hind legs, which are slightly longer and stronger than the front, that enable them to be great leapers. They are able to leap as high as 18 ft into the air and as far as 40–45 ft horizontally. They can reach speeds up to 50 mph, but they are much better adapted for short and powerful sprints to catch their prey. They have four retractable claws on their fore paws, and also their hind paws.
- Length & Weight – Adult males can reach around 7.9 feet from nose to tip of tail, and a body weight typically between 115 and 220 lb. Females can reach around 6.7 ft from nose to tail, and a body weight between 64 and 141 lb. They also have tails ranging from 25 to 37 in long.
Did You Know? Subspecies of the genus Puma include cats that are the fourth-largest in the cat family.
Scientific Classification Of The Puma
Puma – Puma concolor [Scientific name]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Suborder: Feliformia
- Family: Felidae
- Subfamily: Felinae
- Genus: Puma
Habitat Of The Puma
Members of the genus Puma are primarily found in the mountains of North and South America (Guyana), where a majority of individuals can be found in rocky crags and pastures lower than the slopes grazing herbivores inhabit. Though they choose to inhabit those areas, they are highly adaptive and can be found in a large variety of habitats, including forests, tropical jungle, grasslands, and even arid desert regions. Unfortunately, with the expansion of human settlements and land clearance, the cats are being pushed into smaller, more hostile areas. However, their high adaptability will likely allow them to avoid disappearing from the wild forever.
Tip: A study released in 2017 suggests that pumas have a secret social life only recently captured on film. They were seen sharing their food kills with other nearby pumas. They share many social patterns with more gregarious species such as chimpanzees.
Diet & Reproduction Of The Puma
The majority of their diet includes small animals such as mice, rats, birds, fish, and rabbits. Larger individuals are able to catch larger prey such as bighorn sheep, deer, guanaco, mountain goats, raccoons, and coati. They occasionally take livestock in areas with high populations of them. Pumas hunt using stealth and strength. To kill their prey — usually deer, elk or moose — the puma sneaks up behind the other animal and then chomps down on the prey’s neck with its powerful jaws. To make the kill last longer, it hides its prey from other animals and eat bits of the carcass for several days. A puma typically kills a deer every 10 to 14 days, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.
Reproduction: When it comes to reproduction, breeding season normally occurs between December and March, with a three-month gestation period resulting in a litter size up to six kittens. After mating, male and female part ways; the male continues on to mate with other females for the duration of the mating season, while the female cares for the kittens on her own.
Kittens: Like most other felines, kittens are born blind and remain completely helpless for about 2 weeks until their eyes open. Kittens are born with spots and eventually lose all of them as they reach adulthood. The spots allow the kittens to hide better from predators. Kittens are able to eat solid food when they reach 2–3 months of age, and remain with their mother for about a year. The life expectancy of individuals in the wild averages 12 years, but can reach up to 25 years in captivity.
Pumas In Guyana
Pumas live solitarily, with the exception of the time cubs spend with their mothers. They are able to hunt at night just as effectively as they can during the day. Members of the genus are also known to make a variety of different sounds, particularly used when warning another individual away from their territory or during the mating season when looking for a mate.
Pumas can occasionally be seen walking down forested trails and roads in the Iwokrama Rain Forest and the Rupununi Savannahs of Guyana. They don’t seem to like water and are not usually seen swimming or lounging on river banks like the Jaguar. Like Jaguars and Peccaries, they mark their territory by scratching a patch of dirt and then spraying it with urine, and like other cats, will scratch both fallen logs and live trees. These large and secretive cats are indeed interesting animals.
Article References:
- http://guyanachronicle.com/2015/08/30/wildcats-of-guyana
- https://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/01/29/features/puma/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_(genus)
- https://iwokrama.org/mammals/guides/carn0.html
- https://www.livescience.com/27267-pumas.html
- Main Image: Esti ficheru ta disponible baxo la llicencia Creative Commons Reconocimientu 2.0 xenérica.
