Possible mountain lion sighted in Houston Despite its urban setting, hundreds of miles from acknowledged mountain lion territory, Houston may now have lions living nearby. A woman out on an afternoon run alleges that she came across a mountain lion while jogging in the local park. Regional game officials... For this and other stories Today's Cougar Corner Blog "Starting Down a Slippery Slope - Say No to Nebraska's Legislative Bill 747" - Like most Midwestern states, Nebraska extirpated (killed off) its resident mountain lion population before the turn of the Century--that's the 19th Century. For more than ninety years there were no confirmed sightings of these magnificent c ... For this and other blogs...   MOUNTAIN LION BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR SCIENTIFIC NAME Puma concolor - Cat of one color   COMMON NAMES Puma concolor is listed in dictionaries under more names than any other animal in the world.  There are at least 18 South American native terms, 25 native North American, and 40 English names for mountain lions.  The species most common names are:   Mountain lion, cougar, panther, puma, painter, concolor, cat of one color, cat of many names, tyger, ghost walker, klandagi, cuguacuarana, leopardo, catamount, koe-ishto, ko-icto, and el leon.    APPEARANCE The mountain lion is tan in color, with black tipped ears and tail. Adults weigh 80 to 180 pounds and stand two to three feet high at the shoulders. The length of an adult lion is 6 to 8 feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. The tail measures one-third of the lions length. Mountain lion kittens have camouflaging spots and rings around their tails.    BEHAVIOR Mountain lions are calm, quiet and elusive. They prefer areas with dense undergrowth and cover, and will leave an area where they perceive a threat. Mountain lions live solitary lives, spacing themselves across their habitat by marking and defending areas known as home ranges. Home ranges contain resources cougars need to survive: hunting areas, water sources, safe resting places, lookouts, and for females, safe places to raise young. Although lions are solitary unless mating or accompanied by their young, their territories will often overlap those of the opposite sex, and only occasionally overlap with those of the same sex. A males home range is generally larger than a females. The home territories of mountain lions can cover hundreds of square miles, depending on the availability of prey, time of year, and changes in the local vegetation.   DIET An opportunistic hunter, mountain lions eat prey that is familiar and easily available. They hunt alone from dusk to dawn, taking their prey primarily from behind. Mountain lions primary prey is deer, but they also feed on wild hogs, raccoons, rabbits, porcupines, and birds. A mountain lion may kill a deer every one to four weeks. They often drag their kill to another area and then cover it with dry leaves, grass or pine needles known as caching to protect it from other animals and to reduce spoilage. A lion often returns to the kill several times to feed, for a period of three days to one week.   As one of North Americas largest predators, mountain lions play an essential role in maintaining the health of deer populations. Cougars often prey on the sick, weak, young, and old deer, which helps to control disease and keeps the deer herds strong. Also, they keep deer populations from growing too large or staying in an area for too long and over-browsing their habitat. Over-browsing can threaten native plants and also destroy important habitat for song birds and other animals.    DISTRIBUTION Americas lion has roamed throughout the Americas for at least 50,000 years.  From deserts to humid coast forests, lions live from sea level to snow-covered mountains. They once ranged from coast to coast and from South America into Northern Canada.  Today, because of habitat loss and efforts to exterminate mountain lions in North America, sustainable populations exist in only 12 Western U.S. states, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. A small population exists in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and an endangered population in the tip of Florida (the Florida panther). Mountain lions prefer areas with dense undergrowth and cover, and will leave an area where they perceive a threat. Research has shown that mountain lions often change their movement patterns to avoid human occupied areas, or areas where humans are most active.    ABILITIES Mountain lions are incredible predators with an adaptability to a wide variety of habitats and prey species. Mountain lions can: bound up to 40 feet running leap 15 feet up a tree climb over a 12 foot fence walk many miles at 10 mph reach speeds of 50 mph in a sprint Lions sense movement more accurately than they see detail. Seeing in pixilated mosaics, their wide angle and night vision is much greater than our own.  A lions hearing is acutely sensitive, far beyond human range.  Their ears move independently to pinpoint the source of sounds.    MOUNTAIN LION SIGN Mountain lions are constantly roaming their territories in search of food, water and shelter, often walking more than 10 miles per day. This movement enables them to maintain territories large enough to sustain themselves, and for males it provides an opportunity to monitor and mate with the females whose territory overlaps his. As lions roam they leave sign of their presence in the form of tracks, scat and scrapes. Identifying lion sign is a much better indicator of the presence of mountain lions in an area than a sighting of the actual animal. The vast majority of mountain lion sightings from 75 up to 95 percent are cases of mistaken identity.       MOUNTAIN LION SOUNDS Scientists generally divide the cat family (Felidae) into two groups, or subfamilies: Pantherinate, the large roaring cats, and Felinate, the smaller purring cats.  The ability to roar depends on the structure of the hyoid bone, to which the muscles of the trachea (windpipe)  and larynx (voicebox) are attached. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are the largest of the purring cats.   Members of of the Felinae group (mountain lions, lynx, bobcat, margay, ocelot, and jaguarundi) possess the ability to purr or make shrill, high-pitched sounds.   Mountain lions are very vocal during mating.  The caterwaul characteristic common in domestic cats seems to be even louder in mating mountain lions.   TRACKS Lions have a distinctive M shaped pad, and their claw marks do not show in the track. Walking, the lions hind foot steps in his fore track, creating overlapping patterns.  Cats usually walk through life; like their domestic cousins, they choose a very easy and deliberate walking pace with the result that their tracks typically appear clean and undisturbed, the animals weight showing in an evenly distributed impression.     SCAT Cougars will deposit their scat in the middle of trails and dirt roads as a territorial marking. Mountain Lion scat tends to be segmented. The presence of hair, bones and teeth is common. They can be over an inch in diameter. SCRAPES Cougars will sometimes scrape together a pile of dirt or debris, leaving visible scratch marks in the ground, upon which they may urinate or defecate. This is another form of territorial marking. For more information about Mountain Lions please visit the online version of our publication Cougar: American Lion.   Four ways you can help:            Donate                       Join MLF                       Volunteer                      Cougar Clippings           Mountain Lion Foundation PO Box 1896 Sacramento, CA 95812 916-442-2666      800-319-7621 Copyright 1988-2009 www.mountainlion.org Masthead Design Courtesy of MLF Volunteer Jenny Swartzbaugh