The puma is a large feline, native to the American continent and with a wide presence from the north to the south of the entire region. In this way, it becomes one of the mammals with the greatest distribution throughout this hemisphere. It is an animal that hunts agilely, stalking its prey, which generally die from the strong bite that this felid applies to the victim's neck.
There are different cougars, which are established based on their taxonomy. However, this taxonomy has been changing with the progress of genetic studies and a new classification has recently been established. We invite you to continue reading this article on our site and learn about the types of puma that exist.
Cougar Classification
To understand the types of cougars that exist and their characteristics, we first have to delve into the classification of the cougar. Said classification is as follows:
- Animalia Kingdom
- Filo: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Family: Felidae
- Gender: Cougar
- Species: Puma concolor
This feline, in addition to the cougar receives other names depending on the region, so that it is also known as the American lion, the lion bayo, the red lion and the red ounce. Although initially a great variety of subspecies had been considered (approximately 32), there was doubt about their validity. Subsequently, and based on research, six subspecies of puma were established, which were:
- Puma concolor concolor: distributed in the north and west of South America.
- Puma concolor puma: present in the south of the region.
- Puma concolor couguar: belongs to North America.
- Puma concolor capricornensis: with presence in the northeast of South America.
- Puma concolor costaricensis: native to Costa Rica and Panama.
- Puma concolor cabrerae: native to southeastern South America.
Despite this division into six subspecies, a more recent study by the group of feline specialists that are part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)[1], and based on a genetic investigation of the aforementioned subspecies, has momentarily recognized only two subspecies , which are:
- Puma concolor concolor: it would be distributed in South America, but it probably does not have a presence in the western Andes, to the north.
- Puma concolor couguar: this would be the subspecies of cougar that would have a presence in North America and Central America. It is also possibly found in northern South America, west of the Andes.
Cougar Features
It is commonly known that cougars are big cats. In fact, it is the second largest felid in America, only behind the jaguar. Next, we are going to know the most distinctive characteristics of the cougar:
- Size: Males are much larger than females. Males have weight ranges between 36 and 120 kg, while females weigh between 29 and 54 kg.
- Height: Regarding the dimensions of males, they range from 1 to 1.5 meters, but in females they range from 0.85 to 1.3 meters. These physical differences are known as sexual dimorphism. You can read more about sexual dimorphism in this post that we suggest.
- Pelaje: It is short and thick with a coloration that can be yellowish brown or grayish in the upper regions of the body, but that clears towards the ventral zone. On the throat and chest the fur is whitish.
- Eyes: They have a grayish brown or golden coloration when they are adults.
- Nose: It is pink, but it is bordered by a black line that makes a triangular shape. The mouth also has this dark line around the lips.
- Muzzle: it is white, but in some cases it has a black color towards the sides.
- Cola: it is long and cylindrical in shape. They are usually one-third the length of the body.
- Limbs: Although they are short, they are powerful. They have wide feet, with five toes on the front feet and four on the back feet.
- Claws: They have sharp claws that are retractable and very useful for hunting and defense.
- Skull: it is wide and short, but the frontal area is high and arched.
- Jaw: it is very strong, essential for hunting prey.
Puma are primarily solitary animals, except in the breeding season. In addition, the species is considered as species of least concern, due to its wide distribution. Even so, since it does not have the same presence as in the past because it has been eliminated in several areas, it has some particular considerations in some regions of the continent in relation to its conservation status.
Types of Cougars
Based on the study mentioned above, IUCN experts currently recognize two types of cougar: the North American (Puma concolor couguar) and the South American (Puma concolor concolor). Next, we are going to know some aspects of each one of them.
North American cougar (P. c. couguar)
This subspecies had a wide distribution from Canada to central and southern North America. However, it was brutally hunted, leaving isolated subpopulations that in some cases have been tried to recover. The IUCN refers to the subpopulation of Florida is in danger of extinction The current distribution includes western Canada and the United States, the isolated group in Florida, Mexico and Central American countries.
They are carnivorous animals, so their diet consists of large herbivorous animals such as elk and deer, also rodents, primates, wild boar, armadillos, birds, fish, amphibians, among others. It is capable of hunting an animal of up to 500 kg, which it usually hides afterwards to consume it for several days.
Apparently this subspecies is darker and more uniform in color, developing in various types of habitats such as forests, wetland areas, thickets and forest areas.
South American Puma (Puma concolor concolor)
The subspecies P. c. cougar, P. c. cabrerae and P. c. capricornensis would now be included in this same subspecies. It would be distributed from the north of South America, in Colombia and Venezuela, to Argentina and Chile. The IUCN warns that the abundance of this puma in the Amazon rainforest basin is not known and, in the case of Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Colombia it is found Near Threatened; while in the other regions it is considered vulnerable.
They also maintain a carnivorous diet, being an active hunter that pursues prey such as deer, fish, birds, reptiles, sloths, rodents, Andean bear cubs, among others. Individuals living towards the equator tend to be smaller than those from the north or south of the continent. However, some reports[2] indicate that weights are generally medium. An example of this is the case of the puma in Argentina, which for the female is between 31 and 33 kg and for the male is between 40 and 80 kg. Due to its wide distribution range, it is considered habitat generalist
Don't hesitate to read this article that talks about the feeding of the puma if you want to continue learning more.
