The cougar and jaguar

Cougar (Puma concolor)

The largest of the small wild cats, sometimes also classed as a big cat, the cougar holds the world record as the animal with the most names. It is called by over 40 names in English alone and some of the more popular names are; puma, mountain lion, panther, catamount, red tiger and Florida panther.

Native to the Americas, the cougar is a large, solitary cat. It has the greatest range of any terrestrial (living on land) mammal in the Western Hemisphere. It is distributed from Yukon to Canada to the Southern Andes of South America.

The second heaviest cat in the New World after the jaguar, the cougar is a reclusive animal which avoids people. Its preferred habitats are dense under-brush and rocky areas which are ideal for stalking. It is also found roaming in open areas.

Slender and less muscled than the jaguar, the cougar varies in size; the smallest species are found near the equator and the largest towards the Poles. Some cougars can be as big as the jaguars. On average, a cougar reaches a height of 60-80 cm (2.0 to 2.7 ft) at the shoulder and a length of 2.4 m (8 ft) from nose to tail.Even though the cougar is not as powerful as the jaguar, it has powerful forequarters, neck and jaws which help it to grasp and hold large prey. It locates prey by scent and sound.

The cougar generally stalks and ambushes a wide variety of prey - ungulates (hoofed mammals) such as deer, sheep (which are its prime food) and even domestic cattle and horses. It also hunts species as small as insects and rodents and is known to eat porcupines, raccoons and mice. It also eats grass! It has retractable claws, adaptable to clutching prey; four on its hind paws and five on its forepaws including one dew claw (rudimentary inner toe).

The paws are large and proportionately it has the largest hind legs in the cat family. The large paws and hind legs allows the cat to make great leaps and also sprint. Its head is round and the ears are erect.On average, the cougar is heavier than the leopard and weighs 53 to 72 kg (115-160 lbs). Cougars weighing 200 lbs have also been recorded.It has a plain coloured fur coat which could vary from sibling to sibling and even between individuals in the area. Typically tawny, the colour ranges from silver-grey to a reddish hue. Lighter patches than the base colour appear on the underside, jaw and throat areas. After a gestation period of about 91 days, the female gives birth to a litter comprising one to six kittens. Born blind like all kittens, the cougar kittens too open their eyes after 7-10 days.

Parenting is done by only the mother in a maternity den which is usually located in a rock shelter, crevice, thicket or cave. The ground is lined with moss and vegetation. The young have heavily spotted coats for the first three months. It is around this same time that they are weaned and start hunting with mum. The cubs stay with the mother until they are about one to two years.

The home range of a single male cougar can be as large as 175 square miles. A male may travel up to 25 miles (40 km) when hunting at night. Cougars hunt both day and night, but they are most active at dawn and dusk.

Once hunted to near extinction, the cougar has now made a comeback and in recent years, the populations have expanded into Western United States too. The life expectancy in the wild is between 8-13 years and probably average around 8-10 years. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists the cougar as near threatened.The cougar communicates by licking, rubbing its body against trees or the other animals, especially cubs and mate and also by vocalising. It’s famous for its blood-curdling mating call.

A cougar not only screams, but also makes low-pitch hisses, growls, chirps and whistles. One of the reasons it’s not typically classed among big cats is because of its inability to roar. It can only purr, like a domestic cat. A piercing whistle is used to signal the cubs by the female. The young cougars produce chirping whistles.The cougar can leap up onto trees about 20 feet high and also jump to the ground from trees as high as 60 feet!

When hunting, the cougar usually stalks its victim to within 30 ft (9 m) and then rushes in from its hiding place to capture and kill it. The cougar jumps generally at the victim’s neck with its hind legs firmly planted on the ground for support, control and stability.The grace and power of the cougar has been greatly admired in the culture of the indigenous peoples of Americas.In fact, the Inca City of Cusco is said to be designed in the shape of a cougar. Because of its power, many items, especially sports items, are branded with its name.

Jaguars (Panthera onca)

A New World mammal, the jaguar is one of the four big cats in the Panthera genus. Tigers, lions and leopards belong to the Old World.

The largest and most powerful cat in the Western Hemisphere, its present range extends from Mexico, Central America south to Paraguay and Argentina.

The jaguar is very similar to the leopard and is sometimes mistaken for a leopard, but its build is sturdier than a leopard’s. Compact and well muscled, significant variations have been noted in size. Typically, females are 10 to 20 per cent smaller than the males that weigh between 56-96 kg (124-211 lbs) on average. The body length too varies; but on average it ranges between 1.62 and 1.83 m (5.3 - 6 ft). Its tail length is about 75 cm (30 in). The jaguar stands at 67-76 cm (27-30 in) at shoulder height.

One of the ways a jaguar can be distinguished from a leopard is by the rosettes on the coat. Jaguars have larger, but a fewer amount of rosettes which are usually darker, with thicker lines and small spots in the middle. The rosettes vary and merge at the tail to form rings. The base colour of the coat is tawny yellow in general, but ranges from reddish brown to black, as melanism is reported among jaguars. In the South American range, about six per cent of the jaguar population is melanistic. The underbelly, throat, outer surface of legs and flanks are white.

The second strongest of all mammals, its short, sturdy body makes it adept at climbing, crawling and even swimming. It has a robust head and powerful jaws.

In behaviour and selection of habitats, the jaguar is closer to the tiger, even though its appearance is like that of a leopard. It is found in dense forests (profound habitat), and also in forested and open territories. Along with the tiger it is noted as a feline that enjoys water.

An opportunistic hunter, its diet comprises 85 species which includes large prey such as deer, anacondas, caiman and capybaras and smaller prey such as frogs, mice, birds, fish, sloths, monkeys, turtles and domestic livestock.

Both males and females hunt, but males travel further than the females each day. The cougar is a nocturnal and crepuscular(active in twilight) hunter. It is also a solitary hunter and adopts the stalk and ambush technique when hunting.

Relative to the big cats, it has developed an exceptionally powerful bite; directly into the skull between the ears of prey to cause a fatal blow to the brain. This is its preferred method of killing prey, but it also resorts to the deep throat bite and suffocation techniques which are typical among the Panthera genus. The skull bite technique is employed mostly with mammals. It has the power to damage the temporial bones, especially in the capybara, with its powerful canine teeth.

After a gestation period of 93-105 days, the female gives birth to a litter comprising up to four cubs. Weaned at three months, the cubs continue to remain in the den until they are about six months. Like the cubs of cougars and most big cats, the jaguar cubs too stay in the company of their mother until they are about one or two years of age.

A jaguar’s lifespan is between 12-15 years, but in captivity, there are records of it living for even 23 years. The jaguar too has featured prominently in the mythology of numerous American cultures such as the Aztecs and Mayans. It is among the fastest animals and is capable of reaching speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) according to experts.

What is melanism?

Have you heard of albinism or seen animals and people affected by it? The victims are generally called albinos. Well, melanism is the opposite of albinism. But, while in albinism those affected display pale skin (pinkish), light hair, fur etc, in animals affected by melanism, the opposite occurs. An increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation of an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin leads to melanism. Many examples of melanism have been recorded in the animal world, especially among felines; leopards and jaguars with this condition are often called black panthers although cougars are also known as panthers. There is no distinct species of wild cat called a black panther. It has become a common name today for any black coloured variant of any species of cat affected by melanism. Melanism (derived from the word melanin), in jaguars is due to dominant gene mutation. In leopards however, it is due to a recessive gene mutation. Even though the cat appears fully black at first glance, closer examination would reveal that the typical markings are still existing, though hidden by the black pigment. In humans, melanin (dark pigments) leads to tanning when exposed to sunlight.

Even though animals with melanism are normal and not different to the original animals (except in colour), animals with albinism are generally affected with health problems. Albino cats may be deaf. Rodents with albinism have red eyes, but most animals with albinism have blue eyes and pink skin and white fur/feathers.

Melanism occurs in a variety of animals including mammals, reptiles and insects.

Fact file: Big and small cats

* One definition of big cats includes only the four species of cat in the genus Panthera ; the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. It is only the members of this genus in the family of cats (Felidae) that are able to roar. All the others can only purr and make various other sounds.

* A more expansive definition of big cats include the cheetah, snow leopard, clouded leopard and the cougar.

* The roaring cats are also known as ‘great cats’.

* The young of big cats are always called cubs, but those of other cats are generally referred to as kittens.

* The origin of the Felidae family can be dated back to about 11 million years of age and to the Asian region.

Cougars and jaguars

* Research has revealed that cougars and jaguarundies are closely related to the modern cheetah of Africa and Western Asia.

* Melanism has not been observed in cougars.

* Cougar cubs have spotted coats and blue eyes. Juveniles are pale and have dark spots on flanks.