Mountain lion
These predators look very much like over-sized short-hair house cats. Six subspecies live in North America, Central American, eastern South America, northern South America, central South America and southern South America.
Most scientists prefer to call these cats “pumas.” These cats have about 40 names in the English language, including panther, puma, cougar, catamount, painter, mountain screamer, red tiger, Mexican lion and American lion. Incas called it “puma,” while early South American Indians called it “cuguacuarana,” from which the word “cougar” comes. Early Spanish explorers of the Americas called the cat “leon,” meaning lion and “gato monte, meaning mountain cat. The big cat’s phylum is Chordata, in the class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae and genus Puma. The name translates to mean “mountain lion” in Spanish, French, German and other Latin-based languages. The mountain lion’s scientific name is Puma concolor, from the Spanish word puma of Latin origin. Want more mountain lion facts? Give ‘ 11 Incredible Mountain Lion Facts‘ a read for a deep dive into the most incredible facts about these majestic animals! Mountain Lion Scientific Name Fast runners: They can run at speeds up to 50 miles per hour.Solitary life: These lions prefer to live alone on about 30 square miles of territory.Changing eye color: Cubs are born with blue eyes that change to yellow by age 16 months.
Cry like house cats: Mountain lions do not roar, instead using a distinct mountain lion scream, growl, hiss, meow and purr.They live in more geographies than any other Western Hemisphere mammal, besides humans. Also called by the name cougar, puma, catamount and panther, mountain lions are animals that thrive in many habitats. In the United States, these cats live primarily in western states and Florida. The mountain lion is a large, tan colored cat species native to North America, Central America and South America.
“Can jump to the height of a two-story building!”