The Biology of Cougars in Manitoba
Basic Biology
Cougars are one of the two "big cats" in the New World. The other is the jaguar (Panthera onca). Cougars are found in various habitats in North and South America, all the way from the Yukon to the southern tip of Argentina. They are members of the Felidae (Cat Family) of mammals and are considered to be the largest members of the Felinae, the subfamily containing the cheetah and the rest of the smaller cats: lynx. bobcat, jaguarundi, etc. The other cat subfamily, the Pantherinae, includes all the really big cats: lions, tigers, leopards and jaguar.
Manitoba is home to three wild members of the cat family: the cougar, bobcat (Lynx rufus) and lynx (Lynx canadensis). Lynx roam the province's boreal forest regions to the north and east while bobcats are found in the southern parts of the province primarily along forested waterways.
[Click for images: Photos - Manitoba's other wild cats. ]
Description
A cougar is a very large cat, males average 60 - 80 kg in weight and around 240 cm in length, from nose to tip of the tail. A good portion of that is tail though, about 80 - 90 cm. Females tend to be smaller, averaging around 40 - 50 kg kg. Standing on all fours cougars are about 60 - 80 cm tall at the shoulders. Both sexes are an even tawny brown colour with white around the muzzle. Their long tails are tipped in black. The young, called kittens, are lighter in colour with distinct dark spots.
Classification
The official classification of the cougar is:
| Kingdom: | Animalia | |
| Phylum: | Chordata | |
| Class: | Mammalia | |
| Order: | Carnivora | |
| Family: | Felidae | |
| Subfamily: | Felinae | |
| Genus: | Puma | |
| Species: | concolor |
Name Derivation
Cougars have a wide array of other common names including: mountain lion, puma, panther, catamount, painter and many others; so many that trying to provide explanations for its common names would take several pages! The Wikipedia page on cougars (link below) has a pretty good explanation of a few of these. The common name, "cougar" is thought to be a corruption of the French "couguar", which was in turn derived from a Brazilian aboriginal name for these cats, "cuguacuarana".
The scientific name, Puma concolor, derives from one of its common names, Puma, which is thought to be a Spanish word adopted from an aboriginal word for these big cats. Until recently cougars were Felis concolor, Felis being latin for "cat". The specific name "concolor" reflects the even coloration of these cats, "con" is Latin for "same or even".
Distribution
The cougar is one of the most widely distributed mammals in the New World. Before European settlers arrived cougars were thought to be common throughout North America south of the boreal forest regions and throughout almost all of South America. Their original range seems to have been closely tied with the distributions of elk and deer in North America. Aggressive "anti-predator" hunting almost eliminated cougars from east of the Rocky Mountains. A population persisted in southern Florida, and in recent years cougars are thought to be spreading back into parts of eastern North America where they were thought to be extirpated.
[Click for map of cougar range.]
Cougars were likely present in Manitoba in the pre-European settlement era and were thought to have been eliminated here, too. Whether or not they were completely eliminated from this province at some point is a subject for debate. Recent sightings of cougars leave little doubt that the animals are here again, but whether they have taken up permanent residence here is not known. In both North and South Dakota there are established breeding populations of cougars. Individual animals, especially young males, can travel great distances once they leave their mothers in search of a territory of their own. The recent accounts of cougars in this province may be the result of spill-over from these nearby American populations. If cougars do re-establish a resident breeding population in Manitoba, their range would likely coincide with that of white-tailed deer, the dominant ungulate species in the agricultural region of the province and in the southern borders of the boreal forest.
Bill Watkins, Manitoba Conservation, provided some more information to ponder. "South Dakota has an estimated (and very well studied) population of 165 cougars and has an average of 25 dead cougars (mostly road kill but some “defense” kills) turned into their wildlife folks every year." If Manitoba has a resident, breeding population, why are so few showing up dead? Young cougars are, sadly, like many other large mammals quite prone to being killed while crossing roads and highways.
Habitat
It seems that just about any kind of environment (outside of tundra) can hold habitat for cougars. They can live in deserts and swamps, mountains and prairies. The key component seems to be some sort of dense cover that lets them pursue their ambush style of hunting; that and the presence of large prey species like deer.
Populations
The population density of cougars is always fairly low, as is tends to be for all large predators. Cougars are solitary animals and strongly territorial, with home ranges of 30 to 100's of square km. Home ranges of males can be as large as 1000 square kilometres, females' ranges are usually much smaller. Home ranges of both sexes will vary greatly with the availability of prey. Population densities of 1 per 35 square km have been recorded in good habitat. There will be some overlap of territories between males and females.
Life Cycle
Female cougars reach sexual maturity after 1 1/2 years. They come into estrus (heat) regularly throughout the year, but females usually only produce a litter once every 2 or 3 years. Births can occur any time of year, but most litters are born from June to September in North America. Between 1 and 6 kittens are born 3 months after mating. Males don't contribute to raising the young and may kill any kittens they find. The kittens are weaned at about 3 months, but stay with their mothers, dependent on her hunting skills, until around age 2. Survivorship to adulthood is low for cougar kittens, with an average of only 1 per litter reaching adulthood. Mortality of young adults is also very high. Life expectancy in the wild may be 8 to 13 years. Captive animals have lived for 19 years.
Food
Cougars, like all cats, are carnivores. Their favourite prey seem to be deer and other similar sized animals, but they will take anything they can get, from squirrels and rabbits to mice and birds, if the opportunity presents itself. Moose and elk can even fall prey to cougars, but a cougar risks greater injury if it tackles such a large prey animal. The hunting technique of a cougar involves a sudden dash or leap from cover. If prey is grasped the cougar quickly maneuvers toward the head and applies a neck bite. In smaller animals the dorsal side of the neck may be bitten separating neck vertebrae and resulting in quick death, but larger animals are grasped on the ventral surface, the throat, strangled and die of asphyxiation.
Habits
Solitary, secretive and far-ranging describes the habits of cougars. They may be active by day, but are primarily nocturnal, roaming great distances in search of prey. They are extremely agile and powerful, and are renowned for their leaping abilities. In a single bound a cougar can leap 14 m along the ground, or can launch itself 6 m straight upwards into a tree!
Human/Cougar Interactions
Humans and cougars are best kept apart. When people encroach into cougar habitat, venturing further and further into wilderness areas, even building homes in traditional cougar habitats, bad things can happen. Cougar attacks on humans are a reality. In North America since 1970 there have been 22 people killed by cougar attacks. Conversely, people kill hundreds of cougars each year. Total numbers of cougars taken by hunters or killed by conservation officers (due to perceived threats) aren't available, but in California alone, where it is not legal to hunt cougars, it's reported that more than 100 are killed per year. Nearly all states and provinces in western North America allow cougar hunting. Manitoba affords cougars full protection while North Dakota recently initiated a hunting season on its population in the southwest of the state.
Cougars are still being hunted for sport in North America, and I say "for sport" because no one hunts cougars for their meat. Hound-hunting used to be the main manner of sport hunting for cougars. This involves releasing packs of trained dogs to chase and tree the cat, whereupon a hunter arrives and shoots the animal at close range. In some cases the lead dog wears a radio tracking collar with a tilt-switch that tells the hunters, waiting back in the truck with the heat on, when the dog is raising its head at the treed cat. How sporting! Fortunately, hound-hunting is falling into disfavour and has now been banned in some US states that still allow cougar hunting.
Final Thoughts
The cougar is one of the great symbols of wilderness in North America. Whether or not these magnificent cats are permanent residents of Manitoba, our province is much richer for even their temporary presence. I hope one day to see one of these great cats in the wild. I'd even settle for finding a track in the snow, something to confirm for me that I shared a bit of ground with a wild cougar.
Thanks for learning about Manitoba's Cougars! Bye for now.
Some other winter features your might enjoy:
Debbie the Polar Bear | Winterkill | Ruffed Grouse
Other Resources:
For more information on cougars, check out these books:
Mammals in North America. By R. E. Wrigley, 1986.
The Mammals of Canada. By A.W.F. Banfield, 1974.
Manitoba's Big Cat: The story of the Cougar in Manitoba. By Robert E. Wrigley and Robert W. Nero. 1982.
Web Resources:
CougarNet.org| Wikipedia - Mountain Lion
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