Cougar Facts for Kids

So, what is it supposed to be called? Is it a puma, a cougar, a mountain lion, or a panther? And which one is correct?

Well, that's the first interesting fact about cougars. They hold the Guinness World Record for the most number of names of any animal in the world!

The cougar is the 4th largest cat in the world, behind the lion, tiger, and jaguar. But despite its size, it's not considered one of the "big cats," since it can't roar. In fact, a cougar is actually more closely related to a common house cat than a lion or a tiger!

But even though it's not considered one of the "big cats," it can still get pretty big. A cougar's body can grow to about 3 to 6 feet (1 to 1.5 meters), and can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds (about 30 to 100 kg), most often about the weight of an adult human.

They grow larger in colder areas, where the extra bulk helps them stay warm, while staying smaller in hotter environments. They also stay smaller where their territory overlaps with jaguars, since the jaguar eats most of the larger animals, and the cougar goes after the smaller prey.

Cougars are great jumpers, with powerful hind legs that help them jump up to 18 feet high (5.4m), and 20 to 40 feet horizontally (6 to 12m). They're also great climbers, and can even swim if they need to.

Cougars can be found living in mountains, deserts, forests, jungles, in high or low elevations, in hot or cold climates, meaning they're highly adaptable to many different environments, which is why they can be found in so many countries.

A cougar's favorite type of environment is the kind it can use to hide, so it's most often found in dense forests or rocky areas, where it can use the landscape to hide in the bushes or behind the rocks while it's stalking prey. Like any wild cat, cougars are excellent hunters, and can be very good at staying hidden, making them difficult to spot in the wild.

Baby cougars are born blind, and stay hidden in the den for a few months, while its mother raises them and does all the hunting. Cougar cubs can start hunting at about 6 months, but stay with their mom for about 2 years before they go off on their own, find their own territory, and live alone, like most cats.

There's some good news for cougars, especially compared to other wild felines, which have far more trouble dealing with habitat loss and other factors which threaten populations.

Cougars are rated "least concern," which means they don't face immediate threat of extinction. Although exact numbers are always difficult, scientists estimate that about 50,000 cougars live in the wild, and this relatively large population, as well as their wide range and adaptability to a variety of habitats, is part of what gives the mountain lion a good chance at surviving for a long time.

However, that doesn't mean it's time to stop worrying. Cougars face a serious threat from hunters, especially in the United States, where some states don't even have laws against hunting them. Farmers sometimes consider them a threat to their animals, and will hunt and kill them to protect their farms.

Over in Florida, cougars are critically endangered. This population, called the Florida panther, is the only known surviving population of cougars in the eastern United States, and survival is very challenging when cut off from other breeding populations.

If the cougar is going to survive in North America, serious conservation efforts need to be improved, especially in areas like Florida, with such a low population, and Texas, which seems to have no laws regulating cougar hunting at all.