Pumas are also known as cougars or mountain lions. Their scientific name, Felis concolor, means “cat of one colour.” Pumas, native to the Americas, have the largest range of any wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, from Canada’s Yukon to the southern Andes. They are adaptable, found in various habitats, and are the second heaviest cats in the Western Hemisphere after jaguars.
Despite their size, Pumas are more closely related to domestic cats than to true big cats. They are solitary, agile predators, capable of leaping up to 5.4 meters vertically and running up to 72 km/h. They primarily hunt ungulates but will eat a range of prey, from insects to large mammals.
Physically, Pumas are slender with a tawny coat that can vary in colour, and they have large paws and powerful hind legs. Their diet is exclusively meat, and they use stealth to ambush prey.
Pumas are solitary, with only mothers and cubs living together, and their home ranges can vary greatly. They are found in diverse habitats and are one of the few wild land animals with such a broad distribution in the Americas. Pumas can interbreed with leopards to produce hybrids known as Pumapards, which inherit dwarfism and have a unique coat pattern.
Listed as "least concern" by the IUCN, Pumas face no significant threats from predators and have a field of vision spanning 130 degrees. They can kill prey up to four times their size and bury carcasses for later feeding. Their impressive jumping ability and sprinting speed make them formidable hunters.
Here’s a lesser-known fact about Pumas: they are one of the few big cats that are capable of making a variety of vocalizations, but they do not roar like lions or tigers. Instead, pumas produce a range of sounds, including a distinctive scream or “yowl” that can be heard over long distances. This vocalization is especially common during mating season and can also serve as a way to communicate with other pumas in their territory. The scream can be quite eerie and is sometimes mistaken for the cry of a human or other animal.