This powerful predator roams the Americas, where it is also
known as a puma, cougar, and catamount. This big cat of many names
is also found in many habitats, from Florida swamps to Canadian
forests.
Mountain lions like to prey on deer, though they also eat
smaller animals such as coyotes, porcupines, and raccoons. They
usually hunt at night or during the gloaming hours of dawn and
dusk. These cats employ a blend of stealth and power, stalking
their prey until an opportunity arrives to pounce, then going for
the back of the neck with a fatal bite. They will hide large
carcasses and feed on them for several days.
Mountain lions once roamed nearly all of the United States. They
were prized by hunters and despised by farmers and ranchers who
suffered livestock losses at their hands. Subsequently, by the dawn
of the 20th century, mountain lions were eliminated from nearly all
of their range in the Midwest and Eastern U.S.—though the
endangered Florida panther survives.
Today, whitetail deer populations have rebounded over much of
the mountain lion's former range and a few animals have appeared in
more eastern states such as Missouri and Arkansas. Some biologists
believe that these big cats could eventually recolonize much of
their Midwest and Eastern range—if humans allow them to do
so. In most western U.S. states and Canadian provinces, populations
are considered sustainable enough to allow managed sport
hunting.
Mountain lions require a lot of room—only a few cats can
survive in a 30-square-mile (78-square-kilometer) range. They are
solitary and shy animals, seldom seen by humans. While they do
occasionally attack people—usually children or solitary
adults—statistics show that, on average, there are only four
attacks and one human fatality each year in all of the U.S. and
Canada.
National Geographic