Cougar: status, range, size and diet
A large tawny cat with the widest range of any wild land mammal in the Americas, from the Yukon to Patagonia, listed as Least Concern.
Also known as Puma concolor, mountain lion, puma, panther, catamount
At a glance
| Scientific name | Puma concolor |
|---|---|
| Group | Big cats |
| Weight | Males about 53-72 kg, females about 34-48 kg |
| Length | Nose to tail tip about 2.0-2.4 m, tail 63-95 cm |
| Lifespan in the wild | 8-13 years |
| Known for | Holding a record for the number of English names of any mammal, among them mountain lion, puma and panther. |
Status
| IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Assessed in | 2015 |
Where it lives
| Range | From the Canadian Yukon through the United States, Mexico and Central America to the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Forest, mountains, scrub, swamp and desert, from sea level to well above 4,000 m |
| Diet | Mainly deer and other hoofed animals, plus rodents, hares, birds and smaller carnivores |
Main threats
- Loss and fragmentation of habitat
- Roadkill
- Loss of prey
- Killing over livestock and poaching
About
The cougar is the second-largest cat in the Americas after the jaguar. It is a big cat in size but belongs to a separate genus from the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. It is a plain tawny or greyish animal with a pale belly, a long thick tail with a dark tip and a small head. Kittens are spotted. The adult has hind legs longer than the front, which give it a powerful jump, and it can leap several metres up a rocky slope or into a tree.
Cougars purr, scream, hiss and chirp, but do not roar. People in different countries use different names, including mountain lion in the western United States, cougar in Canada and puma across Latin America and in most scientific writing.
Where it lives and what it eats
The cougar occupies a larger latitude range than any other wild land mammal of the Western Hemisphere. It can live almost anywhere with cover and prey, including deserts, rainforest, conifer forest and high mountains. Two subspecies are recognised, one in South America and one in North and Central America. Cougars were wiped out across most of eastern North America by the early twentieth century. The Florida panther is the only population that survives in the East and is protected under the US Endangered Species Act.
Cougars hunt alone, stalk close and kill with a bite to the neck or throat. Deer are the main prey in North America, while South American cougars take a wider mix of animals. They cover meat they cannot finish with leaves and soil and return to it.
Threats and conservation
The IUCN rates the cougar as Least Concern, in an assessment completed in 2015. Numbers are well below historical levels in many regions. Habitat is lost to roads and development, prey is depleted, and vehicles kill many cougars. In parts of Latin America they are shot to protect livestock. Hunting is regulated and legal in much of the western United States, where wildlife agencies set seasons and limits.
Wide-ranging populations depend on corridors, such as wildlife crossings over highways, that let young males disperse. The Florida population, which suffered from inbreeding, has been helped by genetic management.
Cats and people
Cougar attacks on people are very rare. They occur most often where housing meets cougar habitat, and children and people alone are most at risk. Local wildlife agencies explain how to behave during an encounter, and anyone who finds a cougar near a home should contact them. The cougar appears in the stories of many Native peoples and is a sports mascot across North America. Cougars adapt to captivity but are not suited to home life, and keeping one as a pet is illegal or tightly restricted in most places.
Profile last reviewed November 7, 2026