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Cougar or Puma - Puma concolor Weight: 100-200 lbs The largest of the lesser cats, the puma, often incorrectly called a panther (a panther is a leopard), is a large and powerful cat with a graceful and narrow body and exceptionally strong legs. It is the champion jumper among cats, able to execute a 30 ft. standing broad jump or an 18 ft. jump straight up the face of a cliff. Its head is small, with small rounded ears. Its has a distinctive call midway between a cough and a snarl. Despite its size, it is a lesser cat and cannot roar. Its coat is a uniform tawny color with lighter underparts and white on the chin and throat. It sports a white moustache. The puma was until recently found in all parts of North and South America except the arctic, but is rapidly vanishing from large portions of the U.S. and Canada. It is strongly territorial, claiming an exceptionally wide range, and is solitary even by cat standards, avoiding its own kind except to mate. It hunts by day, primarily from the ground but occasionally from high rocks, low cliffs, or trees, and seeks deer, sheep, goats, peccary, capybara and other similarly-sized game. |
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