![]() ![]() After feeding on its kill, the lion will cache the prey, or bury it in a secluded spot. One lion can consume up to 20 or 30 pounds of meat in a single meal. While deer is their preferred food throughout their range, Mountain Lions also feed on mice, ground squirrels, rabbits, skunks, porcupines, and birds. Alternatively when attacking larger animals such as elk or even horses, Mountain Lions choose to clamp down on the windpipe, strangling the victim. Their jaws are powerful enough to break the neck of a deer or smaller animal. When attacking large animals, Mountain Lions go for the neck. In actuality they may leap from a high hiding place to build up speed for the attack, but at the point of impact, they keep their hind legs on the ground for balance and, if necessary, a quick escape. A popular myth is that Mountain Lions jump out of trees or off of cliffs to attack their prey. Then, silent stalking of the prey is followed by a quick surprise attack by the powerful cat. The lion waits patiently in dense vegetation or rock crevices for prey to wander by. Mountain Lions are known as ambush hunters. Evolving short muzzles increased biting power, but decreased the sense of smell. This is the trade-off cats made millions of years ago. By comparison, Mountain Lions have a weak sense of smell. Lions can detect high frequency sounds that allow them to detect hidden prey. This is also an important tool for hunting in low light. In addition to its' excellent vision, the Mountain Lion has extremely sensitive hearing. Although Mountain Lions cannot see in complete darkness, they can discern details in much lower light than humans. The animal's eyes are quite large, and the retina contains more rods than cones, lending to the cat's excellent night vision. The vision of the Mountain Lion is one of the animal's most important adaptations for hunting. Mountain Lion habitat must provide an adequate prey base as well as cover for hunting. Human activity has encouraged Mountain Lions to retreat to the rugged terrain that remains largely uninhabited by humans. Mountain Lions can survive in a variety of habitats, including high mountains, deserts, and swamps. Variations in the color of the lion's coat have been listed as rust, apricot, lemon, smoke, and even black. The underside of the cat is white, and the tail is tipped in black. The coat of the Mountain Lion is light brown in color, and the fur is short and coarse. The largest Mountain Lion ever to be documented weighed 276 pounds, but a Lion of this size is extremely rare. Mountain Lions usually weigh between 75-175 pounds. The tail of the Mountain Lion is about one-third the entire length of the body. These large cats, as adults, can be 30 inches in height at the shoulder, and approximately 8 feet long from nose to tail. So unexpected that it's common for people to initially mistake them for deer even though the only things deer and Mountain Lions have in common are four legs and similar colored fur. Sighting a wild Mountain Lion is a rare and unexpected event. ![]() These majestic creatures once roamed throughout North America, but today, their range is limited to British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the twelve westernmost states in the US, and Florida. Also known as cougar, puma, panther, yellow cat, catamount, etc., the Mountain Lion is North America's second largest member of the cat family, after the Jaguar. ![]()
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