Florida Panther, the photo is in front of you - it's a beautiful big cat, it is also called a mountain lion, red tiger, panther or cougar.These beautiful animals occupy a place of honor in the tribal mythology, they are secretive and very smart."Puma" in translation means "strong and powerful".Once the cougar was called "royal cat", the name it is completely suitable.Only very difficult to live in our day this beautiful animal.Who is on the verge of extinction Florida Panther, The Red Book on your pages have to "settle" the beast.In ancient times, wild cat lived everywhere - from New England to the Rocky Mountains, and now I would like to restore the population of Florida cougar.
Florida Panther: description
Puma is similar to a panther, but more graceful.She has a strong, flexible elongated body length of up to two meters with a tail.The head is small, with small round ears, big teeth, like all predators, a length of about four centimeters.Feet wide, short and strong, sharp retractable claws, it can hide.The tail is strong and muscular, about 30 cm long, with a small brush on the end.An adult male weighs about 50-60 kg, females - 30-40 kg, there are some individuals that reach 100-105 kg.
primary coat color - yellowish-gray or yellowish-brown.The belly and chin are white, black tail.The ears are dark on the sides of the snout has black markings.Color puma also depends on where in the area inhabited by the beast.Northern members of this species - the gray, cougars tropical areas - red.
Lifestyle wild
Florida Panther lives on the plains and in the mountains up to five thousand meters above sea level.In the second year of life, a wild cat becomes an adult and leave the possession of the mother.Young cougar goes in search of its own territory, it so happens that in the new house has to fight to the death to win back his place in the wild.Adult mountain cat may belong to the territory of 1,300 square kilometers.
Cougar has a solitary life, only in the mating season for cats found procreation.Puma do not like to run long distances as quickly fizzles.Mountain lion hunts after dark day prefers to sleep in the den and enjoy the sun.
The cougar eats?
Florida Panther hunted mostly on elk, deer and mountain sheep.As goodies wildcat uses mice, squirrels, rabbits.Cougar prey may be crocodiles, porcupines, muskrats, beavers, raccoons, armadillos.If the food is not enough, the cougar was visiting farmers, attacking livestock and poultry.
If the victim becomes a mountain lion large animal such as a moose or deer, the predator can eat a week of production.For this good disguises cougar dead animal carcass that it did not find other predators.
Reproduction
Florida Panther a cat, though the wild, so that estrus in females may begin at any time of the year.The initiative during the breeding season comes from the male.Smelled female ready to mate, he invades her possession.If the "girl" "boy" like she did not send him away, and a couple of cats will live and hunt together for seven days.During the "honey" Week cougar can mate at 60-70 times a day.At the end of the breeding season the male goes back home, and the female is waiting young then to grow their own.World cougars family life and upbringing of children "Men" does not apply.
Courtship suit those animals that have their own territory, the breeding season lasts from December to March.The female bears kittens about ninety five days at a time the light comes from two to six blind children weighing about 400-500 grams.Ten days later, the little cougar begin to see them erupt teeth and ears open, they quickly gain experience from his mother.At the age of 25-30 days the kittens out of the den, led alert her that, mom cougar feeding calves milk up to three months.Milk fat cat mountain six times the cow, so the kids are gaining weight rapidly.Together with the young mother lives about 20-26 months, then leaves to arrange his life in a new place.
on the verge of extinction
Unfortunately, in our time mountain lions have very, very little, Florida Panther even got the name of "ghost Wild West" because to see it in the natural environment is almost impossible.Cougar - a rare subspecies of cougars, he is on the verge of extinction, but once these graceful animals inhabited the vast expanses of North America.Now the wild cats in a very limited number live in the forests and wetlands of Florida.
reason for the population decline of the Florida cougar was draining swamps, where the majority prefer to dwell Cougars.For this reason, the added pollution of the environment, and, of course, the man put his hand, as this beautiful animal is considered to be the object of sport hunting.
Florida Panther - is the only subspecies of cougars, which granted the status in the Red Book - "in critical condition"!People came to their senses and protect these beautiful animals, cougar listed in Annex CITES, which controls trade in rare species of animals.
Florida Panther: interesting facts
animal world is very mysterious about each of the animals, you can learn many interesting things.Puma is not an exception, in front of you some interesting facts about this beautiful wild cat.
- Florida Panther - very patient animal.When the cougar gets in a trap, it is not rushing like a tiger and coolly trying to find a way to escape.Finding no way out, the cat falls into a kind of stupor, and can sit motionless for several days.
- over short distances cougar can reach speeds of up to fifty kilometers per hour.
- mountain lion can jump up to a height of six meters.
- Florida Panther can kill prey, which weighed in at three times the weight of a predatory cat.
- Cougars have very good eyesight.
- In spawning season cougars squawk.
- Puma always hunt itself, it never eats prey that killed another animal.
