Солтүстік Американың құлан барысы

Subspecies of carnivore

The North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar) is a cougar subspecies in North America. It is the biggest cat in North America (North American jaguars are fairly small). It was once common in eastern North America and is still prevalent in the western half of the continent. This subspecies includes populations in western Canada, the western United States, Florida, Mexico and Central America, and possibly South America northwest of the Andes Mountains. It thus includes the extirpated eastern cougar and extant Florida panther populations.

As of 2017, P. c. cougar was recognised as being valid by the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group. P. c. costaricensis had been regarded as a subspecies in Central America.

The North American cougar has a solid tan colored coat without spots and weighs Females average , about the same as a jaguar in the Chamela Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Mexican Pacific coast. Recent scientific findings in hair traps in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick have confirmed the existence of at least three cougars in New Brunswick. The only unequivocally known eastern population is the critically endangered Florida panther. There have been unconfirmed sightings in Elliotsville Plantation, Maine (north of Monson) and as early as 1997 in New Hampshire.

The North American Cougar is a carnivore and its main sources of prey are deer, elk, mountain goats, moose and bighorn sheep. Despite being a large predator, the North American Cougar can also be the prey of larger predators like wolves and bears. The North American cougar usually hunts at night and sometimes travels long distances in search of food. They are short distance sprinters and can remain hidden for hours to surprise unsuspecting prey and pounce when they least expect it. Other sympatric predators include the grizzly bear and American black bears. Cougars are known to prey on bear cubs. Cougars in the Great Basin have been recorded to prey on feral horses, as well as feral donkeys in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts. Rivalry between the cougar and grizzly bear was a popular topic in North America. Fights between them were staged, and those in the wilderness were recorded by people, including native peoples. The North American Cougar plays an important role in regulating ecosystems as a large predator. The presence of the cougar as a predator prevents the overpopulation of herbivorous prey, like deer, in an ecosystem. Overpopulation of prey can result in the destruction of vegetation and biodiversity in an ecosystem. As a consequence to the construction, cougars lose their habitats. Even though conservation efforts of the cougar have decreased against the "more appealing" jaguar, it is hunted less frequently because it has no spots, and is thus less desirable to hunters. California has actively sought to protect the cat and has an estimated population of 4,000 to 6,000. With the increase of human development and infrastructure growth in California, the cougar populations in the state are becoming more isolated from one another. A 2012 study using 18 motion sensitive cameras in Río Los Cipreses National Reserve counted a population of two males and two females (one of them with at least two cubs) in an area of 600 km2 (0.63 cougars per 100 km2). The Bay Area Puma Project aims to obtain information on cougar populations in the San Francisco Bay area and the animals' interactions with habitat, prey, humans, and residential communities. A study on wildlife ecologists showed that urban cougar populations exist around the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with individuals of these populations having the smallest home ranges recorded for any cougars studied, and being primarily nocturnal and not crepuscular (most likely adaptations to avoid humans in high density areas).

Cougars are intelligent animals that rely on strategy when it comes to various means of survival. Through scent, noises, and posture, cougars communicate with each other to exchange messages. Each message depends on how the cougar delivers the sound. If a cougar growls or hisses, other cougars understand a threat is present. The ‘caterwaul’ is a screeching sound made by female cougars during the mating season when competing males are present.