Mountain lion is a large and predatory cat. Reproduction, nutrition and photo of the animal

Mountain lion is found in South and Central America,USA, Alaska and Central Canada. The predator of this is called a cougar, or cougar. A beautiful and graceful beast is by nature a great individualist.

External difference

Mountain lion (or puma) lives only onAmerican continent. This is a very large animal, the length of the male reaches two meters forty centimeters. The female is slightly smaller, it does not happen more than two meters. This wild cat is only slightly inferior to a jaguar in size.

A mountain lion of a stronger sex can weigh fromsixty to one hundred pounds. Female - from thirty to sixty-five. Females are weaker than males, but they are more elegant. Among the large predatory cats, the mountain lion is on the fifth place: on the first - the tiger, on the second - the African lion, on the third - the Asian lion, on the fourth - the jaguar. Puma has strong and massive hind legs, a round head and protruding ears.

This is a big enough cat.A mountain lion weighing one hundred and twenty-five kg was killed in Arizona. The color of a cougar can have a different shade and color. Adult animals are red, silvery, dark yellow. The wool, which is located in the lower part of the body, is slightly lighter than in the upper part.

When a baby is born a wild cat, he is covereddark spots, and the tail - in strips. Over time, the coat will become one-color. Puma - an excellent jumper, the height of the jump can reach about six meters, but its length - sometimes twelve meters.

Abilities and life of the mountain lion

As mentioned above, the paw's hind legs are verypowerful. Running speed is up to 70 km per hour. The American mountain lion perfectly climbs on branches of trees. The structure of the body contributes to a short and swift run, long distance puma can not overcome. This predatory animal is an excellent hunter and can exist both on level ground and in mountains.

Mountain lion by nature - an individualist,prefers to live alone. Couples Cougar (also called a cat) are grouped only in order to reproduce. This is a very short time (about ten days). In ordinary life, the female and male have their own separate territory, where they hunt. The female puma owns about 25 square meters, male cats have up to 50 square meters. Cougars mark their territory with feces and urine. The puma does not invade other people's possessions, otherwise the conflict can not be avoided.

Reproduction of a mountain lion

When the female reaches the age of three, shebecomes sexually mature. The period of the puma's pregnancy lasts three months. During this time, the cat prepares a place where it will give birth to its young. The female arranges a lair in a stone niche (or cave). On average, a puma gives birth to two or three toddlers, but sometimes it can be one cub or six. Cougar feeds her newborn for three months with milk. After the mother takes the children on a hunt and trains everything that she can do herself. At the age of six months, the kids try to catch their first small prey.

Up to two years, young wild cats live with their mother.After leaving their native family and beginning to live alone. The females linger at the mother's side a little longer than the males. Young animals often die in the wild, because young pumas are very hot-tempered and constantly in conflict with their congeners. As a rule, only one cub survives from one brood.

Power mountain lion

Favorite pet dainty is mice and frogs,rabbits and birds, reptiles and grasshoppers. They also hunt small and medium ungulates. People living in agricultural areas, cougar, called "a harmful creature." Puma often attacks sheep. On the hunt, a predatory cat swiftly jumps on the prey and pierces its teeth into the victim's scruff. Sometimes the maneuver fails, then the mountain lion does not try to catch up with the animal, because a long time to run a cougar can not. It is easier for her to choose a new victim. When the hunt is successful, the remains of carcass cougar bury in branches or snow. The next day, the puma will return for his food. Mountain lion lives more than twenty years.