Puma is a flexible and elegant wild cat, that has an impressive size. Despite belonging to subfamily of small cats, puma is by no means small in size, it ranks fourth place in the world in terms of size among all feline, yielding only to the lion, jaguar and tiger. If the name of this animal is translated from Latin (Puma concolor), then it means like “Puma of one color”, which is absolutely suitable in relation to the appearance, which doesn’t have any pattern.
Fact number one.
Pumas are representatives of the feline family living in the wild nature of North and South America, Africa and Asia. They inhabit mainly in mountainous areas, but are found in forests, meadows and even deserts. Being in the conditions of nature, this predator can live for about nineteen years or a little more, if it doesn’t die from a shot by a hunter or poacher.
Fact number two.
Pumas have sharp eyesight, as they hunt mainly at night. Pumas are especially active at dawn and after sunset.
Fact number three.
Puma is the largest cat of America. Its length — about one hundred and eighty centimeters, including a tail of eighty centimeters. Body weight – about one hundred kilograms. The structure of the puma attracts the eye: a strong long body, slim strong legs, a long tail with a black tip proudly descending. A small head and round ears complete the puma’s elegant portrait. The fur is quite thick, short and rough.
Fact number four.
Puma can jump up to a height of more than six meters. Puma also very fast run and can easily climb trees. Puma can kill prey up to three times the weight of its own body. The puma’s hind legs are longer than its front legs.
Fact number five.
The fur color of the puma varies greatly from dark brown to pale grey and tawny color. The fur color is darker on the back and lighter on the chest and inward parts of paws. The tail tip is black. The color of young pumas is spotted. The spots disappear when the puma is six months old. The puma’s fur is really monotonous. The belly area of the animal is painted in lighter colors, while on the muzzle you can also see lighter zones that highlight the mouth and chin area.
Fact number six.
The puma has special growth on its tongue, with the help of which they tear off small pieces of meat from the prey. An adult puma eats from eight hundred to one thousand three hundred kilograms of meat annually. She prefers to hunt deer, which consist of the basis of her diet. It is counted that one predator destroys up to forty to fifty deer of different species in a year. The is why, in order to reduce competition, pumas lead a solitary lifestyle – each adult animal has its own hunting grounds, which it zealously protects.
Fact number seven.
Females reach sexual maturity at the age of one and a half to three years. During whole their lives, starting at the age of three, females bring litter every two to three years. Puma doesn’t have a specific breeding season, it can breed at any time of the year. The size of litter from one to three babies. The gestation period of females lasts from eighty-six to one hundred and four days. Only the mother takes part in the upbringing of the young. She will desperately protect her offspring, who leave when they reach the age of two in order to create their own family. When the children leave, the female is ready to give birth to new offspring. Adult males behave aggressively in relation to each other, but young males behave very friendly. During the breeding season, the puma screams shrilly.
Fact number eight.
Eyes of adult individuals have greenish yellow shade. But such color of the eye appears only of adult individuals. At birth, babies have their eyes closed, just like domestic kittens. They are closed until they won’t (are?) approximately fourteen days old. When babies open eyes, it will be bright blue. It takes about sixteen months for the eyes to go from blue to greenish.
Fact number nine.
The puma hunts its own prey and never feeds on prey killed by other predators. Its main food sources are deer, elk, bighorn, as well as livestock, horses and sheep, especially in the northern part of the habitat. This cat doesn’t hesitate to hunt even rodents and insects.
Fact number ten.
The puma has practically no natural enemies, although some predators are able to hunt the puma. These include animals such as jaguars, wolves, bears, caimans and alligators. Puma, having fallen into a trap, doesn’t go mad, but resigns himself to his fate, making several attempts to free himself.