Puma
Pumas living near the Equator are generally smaller than those living
farther north and south. Males in North America average 62 kg (136
pounds), but rare individuals can exceed 100 kg; length is about 1.2
metres (4 feet), excluding the 0.75-metre (2.5-foot) tail. Females are
somewhat shorter and average about 42 kg. The specific name concolor
("of one colour") refers to the puma's fur, which is uniformly brown on
the back, sides, limbs, and tail. The shade of brown varies
geographically and seasonally from gray to reddish brown, and some
black pumas have been reported; facial colour patterns are also
variable. The underside is lighter. The long tail is commonly tipped
with black and usually held close to the ground when the puma is
walking.
Natural history
The puma is active mostly at dusk, night, and dawn. Throughout its
range its primary prey is hoofed mammals (ungulates, especially deer)
larger than itself. In North America each puma kills about 48 ungulates
per year and a larger number of smaller prey, including rabbits and
hares, coyotes, bobcats, porcupines, beavers, opossums, raccoons,
skunks, and other pumas. Domestic livestock, especially sheep, goats,
and young calves, are also taken. It is rare for pumas to feed on
carcasses that they did not kill. When hunting, a puma moves about 10
km (6 miles) per night, hunting in several travel bouts averaging 1.2
hours each. Traveling alternates with shorter periods of stalking,
waiting in ambush, or resting. Slower than most of its prey, it springs
from cover at close range, usually from behind the intended victim.
When feeding on a large mammal, it minimizes spoilage and loss to
scavengers by dragging the carcass to a secluded cache site and
covering it with leaves and debris. During the day the cat commonly
beds within 50 metres of the carcass, and it will feed for an average
of three nights on a large kill. Except when feeding on large prey, a
puma rarely beds in the same location on successive days.
Adult males and females are both solitary except for breeding
associations lasting one to six days. Pumas are usually silent, but
during this time they emit long, frightening screams intermittently for
several hours. Pumas breed throughout the year, with a summer peak in
births at higher latitudes. The interval between births is about two
years, but it is less if a litter dies or disperses early. Cubs are
born after a 90-day gestation period; the litter size usually is three
but ranges from one to six. Spotted and born blind, each weighs about
half a kilogram. The birth site, usually in nearly impenetrable
vegetation, is kept free of feces and prey remains. It lacks any
obvious modifications and is abandoned when the cubs are about 40-70
days old. Cubs are reared without assistance from adult males, which
occasionally kill cubs that are not their own offspring. Cubs accompany
their mother until dispersing at 10-26 months of age, but most die
before they can fend for themselves. Upon surviving their first two
years, juvenile females disperse 9-140 km (average 32 km); juvenile
males generally disperse farther, sometimes traveling more than 250 km.
It may take a year for them to become part of the breeding population,
and during the transition an individual may sequentially occupy and
abandon one to five small transient home ranges. If a home range can be
established, the cat can be expected to live another 7-11 years. Wolves
and bears occasionally kill pumas and sometimes commandeer the
carcasses of prey killed by them. Most deaths, however, are
attributable to hunters, other cougars, or motor vehicles.
Pumas live at low density (one to five per 100 square km) and thus, in
order to survive, require large areas with sufficient prey and cover
from which to ambush it. In a given region there are about two adult
females for every male. There is extensive overlap between female home
ranges but very little overlap between territories of adjacent males.
Home ranges vary greatly in size, but the average female territory is
140 square km (54 square miles), with male territories being about
twice as large.
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/483346/puma)