Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
There are many ways in which even the cougar's lightning attacks can go awry. Large prey—deer,
elk, bighorn sheep, and the like—are extremely wary. No matter how careful the stalk, the slightest hint
of movement will alert the prey and perhaps launch it into full flight. An errant puff of wind may carry
the cat's scent to the supersensitive nostrils of its intended dinner, or a tiny noise made by those soft,
padded feet can sound the alarm.
Even if the cougar successfully moves into position to commence an attack, many things can still go
wrong. The cougar depends upon a swift end to its onslaught, and the prey may be able, for example,
to dodge the racing predator and accelerate to the point where the cat gives up the chase. At other times
the prey may have sufficient warning to simply be able to outrun its pursuer. Predation, even by a cou-
gar, is far from a sure thing.
Big game—deer, elk, and bighorn sheep—are the mainstays of the cougar's diet; it's also known to
kill moose, though usually calves rather than adults. The big cat rounds out its diet with substantial
numbers of smaller mammals such as hares, rabbits, grouse, coyotes, foxes, badgers, skunks, opossums,
and raccoons. As previously noted, cougars are one of the very few animals able to kill an adult beaver
(see chapter 5), which finds its way into the big cat's diet from time to time. Small rodents, includ-
ing ground squirrels and even mice, are also consumed, and cougars may feed heavily on them when
they're available in large numbers. However, cougars, like wolves, don't survive for long unless large
prey is common.
When a cougar kills a large animal, it may feed on it for as much as ten days. Often it will drag its
kill into woods or brush where it can conceal it, frequently by covering it, to keep its presence secret
from scavengers. By the time a cougar finishes with a carcass, there is amazingly little left. Even the
large upper leg bones are devoured, and only the jaws, the lower legs below the “knee” and “elbow”
joints, and the stomach remain.
This brings up an interesting point. Researcher Kenneth Logan, at the Hornocker Wildlife Institute,
has seen a cougar eat a mouse and expel the stomach—something that one would hardly expect from
such a large predator eating such small prey. I've noticed that our house cats also leave the stomachs
of their prey. Is this a trait shared by all cats? Members of the dog tribe consume the stomachs of their
prey, and even clean up those left by cougars. Perhaps this is yet another difference between cats and
dogs.
Breeding male mountain lions are highly territorial and keep other males away, while females have
overlapping ranges. Thus there is a surplus, nonbreeding cougar population, much as there is with
wolves; young male cougars must wait for older males to die or become decrepit with age or injuries
before moving into the breeding population.
Cougars only reproduce once every two to three years. Cat-fashion, cougar toms take no interest in
raising their offspring; once mating is over, the male and female go their solitary ways. After a gesta-
tion of about three months, the females have a litter of kittens, normally two or three but occasionally
more. These can be born at almost any time of the year.
