The Cougar
If you live in the North or South America, you are most likely in the historic range of mountain lions, cougars, panthers, catamounts, painted cats or suçuaranas. These are not different species, but different names for what once was the widest ranging mammal in the New World referred to by scientists as Puma concolor. Mountain lions originally roamed from southeastern Alaska to southern Argentina and could be found in mountains, marshes, deserts, forests, prairies and jungles. Wherever there was prey and cover, mountain lions could be found. Yet by the turn of the twentieth century, our biggest feline was pushed by hunting and development to the most remote mountainous regions.

Cougars are large members of the cat family, adults ranging from three to five feet long and weighing from 60 lbs to well over 200 lbs. They are agile and powerful animals able to leap 15 feet vertically and 40 feet horizontally from a standing position. They have a shortened face that dramatically increases the power of their bite but decreases their sense of smell. Cougars therefore rely on their excellent vision for hunting and defense. While their preferred prey are the various species of deer, they will also eat smaller mammals, snails and even the occasional fish when necessary. Their specialized hunting technique is to quietly stalk their prey, ambushing it from a tree or a hillside. When attacking, they use their retractable claws to grab hold of their quarry and large fangs to pierce the back of its skull. The cougar will then store its meal under rocks or leaves returning to feed upon it after dark.

As solitary animals, they rarely socialize with other cougars except during mating. This preference for solitude also means they have a very low tolerance for human contact and were quickly exterminated from the most densely populated areas of their native range. This seclusion also means that deadly human encounters are quite rare. In fact, only fourteen people have been recorded killed by mountain lions in the past century. Still, dangerous encounters have been increasing in recent years occurring predominantly in California and Colorado where development is expanding deeper and deeper into the mountains.

In Wisconsin, cougars were present across the entire state before European settlement. They were most prevalent in the hillsides of the western counties that provided better places to ambush deer. Unfortunately, the last known cougar in Wisconsin was killed in 1908. In recent years reports of cougar sightings have been increasing in the state. While no direct evidence has been found of their presence here, it is possible that their range of over 600 miles is bringing the occasional visitor from the Black Hills of South Dakota. While is doubtful that they are reproducing here, some wildlife researchers believe it is only a matter of time before they return again to their role as one of Wisconsin’s top predators. Like most top predators the cougar has been scorned by many hunters. Yet we have the top predators like the cougar to thank for putting the challenge in the hunt. The very characteristics that make hunting a challenge, such as a deer’s or turkey’s alertness, the keen sense of smell and hearing has evolved because of our top predators. All are part of the web of life.