Puma Cats - Food Habits
Notwithstanding the range of the animals, their main food consists of white-tailed and mule deer, which are typically slightly larger than the Puma Cats them selves. Sometimes a Puma Cat eats bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope that make up a substantial part of the diet of an animal in some areas.
In some parts of its range Puma Cats rely on hares, tree porcupines, guanacos, deer and rodents for substantial portions of the diet. Puma Cats also hunt livestock and, if there are domestic cattle roaming about their ranges, they will surely hunt it. That is one of the facts regarding why these animals face human aggression.
Puma Cats - Hunting Habits
A Puma Cat is a very good jumper that's why, when it is hunting, it uses this extraordinary
jumping ability to bring down its quarry. At first, the Puma Cat waits in an
ambush for its prey. Next it seeks for the prey to be off its guard and only then does it attack. These attacks are swift and sudden. With a great leap a Puma running makes long jumps that sometimes exceed 45 feet and vertical leaps of up to 15 feet. It jumps and seizes its prey before it has time to escape. Usually the Puma Cat drags its prey to a place of safety before eating.
Puma Cats - Mating
Puma Cats mate all the year round. Males detect the smell of hormonal changes in the female urine. Female Puma Cats also emit what has been described as a "bloodcurdling scream" when showing that they are ready for mating. After mating, the male departs and takes no responsibility for raising the young.
Puma Cats - Offspring
The cubs are born with spots on their coat. These spots fade away as the cat grows older. Litters are born usually 2 years apart. Actually these are solitary animals, but during a 14-day period of mating, a male and female will break their normally solitary habits to hunt together and sleep next to each other. The kittens begin to eat meat provided by their mother at six weeks of age while they are still suckling. They can hunt only when they are nine months and older. They usually remain with their mother for two years.
Puma Cats - Gestation
Gestation period lasts usually about 84 to 106 days, but typically lasts 94 days. Female give birth to one or three cubs that are in a protected den. Little Puma Cats are born blind with wooly coats that are marked with fairly large dark spots over the body and dark rings around the tail. Each cub weighs one half to a pound and measures 10 to 13 inches in length.
The eyes of the cubs open in two weeks and at six weeks little Puma Cats are ready to accompany their mother to a kill. As a cub grows the spots on the coat disappear and by the age of one year there are no spots at all. The cubs of Puma Cats usually stay with their mother until they are 20 to 24 months old when they leave to establish territories of their own.
Puma Cats - Links
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Animalsnminiature - Shop this collection of mostly smaller-than-life animal sculptures. Includes bears, frogs, chickens, pigs, and some imaginary creatures.
BBB Wild Life - Tawny American cat, also known as a red tiger, is featured in photos and video footage. Find out facts on its habitat, appearance, and lifestyle.
Bengaltigers.com - Pictures of tiger, lions, bobcats, cheetah, leopards, etc.
Canyonlife-Puma Cats - Provides pictures and information of cougar, coyote, and mule deer tracks.
Cat Action Treasury - Cat Action Treasury, a non-profit fund for conservation of wild cats in their natural habitats.
Cat Family (Felidae) - Features videos, pictures and information about many felines.
Cathouse - A non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the world's endangered felines. Home to over 50 wild cats that represent 13 species.
Cougar (Puma concolor) - Photos and facts about this big cat's physical traits, habitat, distribution, diet, and principal threats to its survival.
Cougar Information - Includes history, population dynamics, and distribution. Information made available by the Predator Defense Institute.
Cougars In Missouri - Collection of news stories and photos about Puma Cats in Missouri and adjacent states.
CSZ Puma Cats - Brief facts about Puma Cats.
Defenders.org - Dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities
Living with California Puma Cats - From the California Department of Fish and Game. Includes Puma Cat facts and tips for handling Puma Cat encounters.
Puma Cat Country - Living with wildlife in Lion Country - from Colorado's Division of Wildlife. Includes information on what to do if you should encounter a Puma Cat in the wild.
Puma Cat Facts - Provides a general description of Puma Cat's behaviors and appearance. Shares some photographs of the animal.
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Puma Cat Foundation - A non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Puma Cat and its habitat in California.
Puma Cat Information Brief - Annotated bibliography of the Puma Cat.
Puma Cat Information-Short - Features a picture of Puma Cat tracks, along with the natural history of the cougar, personal notes, and track photos.
Puma Cat Organization of Texas - Non-profit foundation promoting science-based private initiatives, public policies and economic incentives to provide for healthy populations of Puma Cats in natural habitat in Texas.
Puma Cats Archive - Contains an archive of great cats images and information which covers nearly all existing species, including some of the more difficult to find. Species include: lions, tigers, cheetahs, pumas, leopards, jaguars, caracals, servals, snow leopards and many more.
Puma Cats Facts and photos - Puma Cats description.
Puma Cats Outline - Outfitter in Pagosa, Colo., organizes snowmobile adventures, pack trips, and hunts for deer, elk, bighorn sheep, bear, and Puma Cats in the state and New Mexico.
Puma Cats Pictures - Small collection of high quality images taken by international wildlife photographer Mark Kostich.
Puma Cats Posters - Enjoy a selection of charming, humorous and colorful kitty posters portraying felines in a variety of poses. Link to posters of wild cats.
Puma Cats Society - A non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wild cats throughout the world.
Ontario Puma Foundation - Information about the species and its status in Ontario, Canada.
Sierraclub - Gives an overview of the cat also known as puma, catamount, or cougar, including tips on how to avoid them or fight back successfully.
Snowleopardconservancy - The Snow Leopard Conservancy is dedicated to demonstrating innovative grassroots measures leading local people toward effective stewardship of the endangered snow leopard and its habitat.
Thebigzoo - Short description of the Puma Cats. Features videos, pictures and information about many felines.
Tigerlink.org - Provides information about tiger ecology and conservation to the public, scientific, and conservation communities in an effort to help preserve the remaining five subspecies of tigers.
vanAnnies Felidae Research - Information, images, and index of recent journal articles.
Wild Cat Fact Sheets - Species profiles for 37 species, including images and range maps, from the International Society for Endangered Cats Canada.
WildLife on Easy Street - The world's largest exotic cat sanctuary. Information about conservation, statistics, training, educational programs, and volunteering.
