PUMA INFORMATION AND DESCRIPTION

A mountain lion in the wild will not mate until it has established a home territory.

When the female is in estrous, she vocalizes freely and frequently rubs against nearby objects.

The male responds with similar yowls and sniffs the female's genital area. The highest

frequency of copulation was nine times in one hour. A single copulatory act lasts less than one

minute. There is a 67% chance of conception per mated estrous . Courtship and mating occurs

throughout the year, but is concentrated from December to March in northern latitudes.

Gestation periods last from 82 to 96 days. A female mountain lion can come into estrus any

time of the year. Estrus lasts about nine days. Females usually give birth every other year.

After six cycles without mating, the female has a lull for two months before coming

into estrous again. Males remain reproductively active to at least an age of 20 years, and

females to at least an age of 12 years. Litters vary in size from 1 to 6 cubs with an average of 3

or 4. Birth weight is between 226 to 453 grams. The cubs open their eyes 10 days after birth. At

the same time their ear pinnae unfolds, their first teeth erupt, and they begin play. The cubs are

fully weaned at about 40 days of age. Mother and cubs remain together for as long as 26

months, though the average is 15 months. Male young disperse from 23 to 274 km, while

females disperse from 9 to 140 km. Males reach sexual maturity at about 3 years of age and

females at 2 1/2 years.

 Mountain lions are carnivores. They may prey on domestic livestock, including poultry,

calves, sheep, goats, and pigs. Mountain lions have a distinctive manner of hunting larger prey.

The lion quietly stalks the prey animals, then leaps at close range onto their back and breaks

the animal's neck with a powerful bite below the base of the skull. Yearly food consumption is

between 860 to 1,300 kg of large prey animals, about 48 ungulates per lion per year. Mountain

lions cache large prey, dragging it up to 350 meters from the place of capture and burying it

under leaves and debris. They return nightly to feed.

Some subspecies are listed in CITES Appendix I; all others are Appendix II. Some

populations are listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Two populations listed

as endangered under the Endangered Species Act are considered extinct (Puma concolor

schorgeri and Puma concolor couguar). Puma concolor coryi, Florida panthers, and Puma

concolor costaricensis are considered endangered and extant. Historically, mountain lions had

the most extensive distribution of all American terrestrial mammals. They ranged from coast to

coast in North America, and from southern Argentina and Chile to southeastern Alaska.

Extermination efforts, hunting pressure, and habitat destruction have restricted their range to

relatively mountainous, unpopulated areas throughout much of their range.

Populations in eastern North America were entirely exterminated, except for a small

population of Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi). In recent years populations have begun

to expand into areas of human habitation, especially in the western United States. Mountain

lions are now fairly common in suburban areas of California and have recently been sighted as

far east as urban Kansas City, Missouri, where several have been hit by cars. Mountain lion
sightings in eastern North America, outside of southern Florida, are still more likely to be

escaped or abandoned "pet" mountain lions or other large cats.

Pumas have over 200 names because they inhabit the largest geographical region of

any other cat in the world. Other names for the puma include: mountain lion, panther, cougar,

catamount, American lion, screamer, painted cat, and fire cat. Pumas are classified as Least

Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are an estimated

20,000-25,000 pumas remaining in North America; the number remaining in South America is

unknown. The following organizations contribute to the conservation of pumas: the Bay Area

Puma Project, a conservation project for pumas adjacent to the San Francisco Bay area;

Conservation Northwest, a general conservation effort for many animal species in the Pacific

Northwest; and Mountain Lion Foundation, an awareness effort for puma conservation on the

American West Coast.

There is no specific breeding season, but most puma births in North America occur

in late winter and early spring. Courtship and mating (1-6 days) occur throughout the year.

Litters consist of 2-4 cubs that weigh 14-18 oz. at birth. Cubs are born helpless and are spotted

until about 6 months of age. They nurse for about 3 months or more, but begin to take some

meat at 6 weeks. Cubs are fully weaned by 6 months of age. Littermates stay together for 2-3

months after leaving the mother. Females are sexually mature at 2.5 years. Males reach

maturity at around 3 years.