Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Puma
Species: Puma concolor
Mountain Lion
(Puma (Felis) Concolor)
Spatial Range
Mountain Lions appear
Mostly in the western
hemisphere and have the
most extensive ranges of
any land mammal, from the
Straights of Magellan in
South America to the
Canadian Yukon.
Phylogeny
Interesting Facts
•The Mountain Lion holds
Guinness record for the
animal with the most names.
In the English language alone,
the mountain lion has more
than forty names including
Cougar and Desert Puma.
•Unlike the tiger or lion, the
Mountain lion cannot roar due
the structure of its voice box
and instead produces a high
Pitched scream.
Life Cycle
The male reaches sexual maturity at three
The oldest fossil record of a cat that
years of age, and the female two and a half.
most resembles a lion is from Laetoli
The mountain lion has no specific breeding
Habitat
in Tanzania and is 3.5 million years old.
season, but usually mates in late fall or early
Mountain lions are most com- 700,000 years ago, Panthera leo appeared in
winter. After breeding, the male returns to
mon in desert environments, Europe for the first time. From this lion, came
solitary ways and the female gives birth
the Cave Lion 300,000 years ago and during the three months later to a litter of one to six
but are also found in humid
Pleistoscene, the lion spread to North and
forests from sea level to
kittens. She nurses her litter for three
South America and developed into the Pantera months and introduces them to meat after a
10,000 feet elevations.
leo atrox – The American Lion.
They live anywhere prey is
month and a half; teaches them to hunt
abundant.
after six months, and they leave her side
after one year to take on their adult lives
Eating Habits
and find their own territories. A mountain
Mountain lions are omnivores and usually feed on large animals such as deer, elk,
lion can live up to ten years in the wild and
Moose and bighorn sheep but also feed on rabbits, sheep, and coyotes.
up
to
twenty
in
captivity.
By: Jacqueline Davis
Citations: Logan, Kenneth A. and Linda L. Sweanor. Desert Puma: Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation of an Enduring Carnivore. Washington: Island Press, 2001. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountainlion.html http:www.desertusa.com/may96/du_mlion.html