The Mountain Lion

By Al Lowe
Contributor

Do you like cats? If so, how would you like one eight feet long, 250 pounds or more, which can jump 30 feet or more in one leap? That cat is one of the largest North American, and in fact, of one of the great cats of the world.
Felis concolo, the Mountain Lion is also known as the Cougar, Puma, Deer Tiger, Painter and Catamount.
The Cougar at one time was found in all of the Americas except the very far north. It ranged in all of British Columbia, and in all of the southern parts of Canada right through to Cape Breton Island.
At the time of early settlement, these cats were common throughout their range. Now they are quite gone from southern Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia and are very scarce elsewhere. A few are known to exist in the western provinces and New Brunswick, and there are rare reports from Northwestern Ontario.
The behaviour of the Cougar is very much like that of your household tabby cat. It approaches its prey by stealth, creeping up inch by inch, until it is within leaping distance. One or two fantastic bounds and it hits the unwary deer like a thunderbolt. These leaps are quite something. There have been measured jumps from 20 feet up to 50 feet in a single pounce. It will also lie in wait for its prey on a limb or rocky outcrop until the poor sheep or goat comes along. Also, like your cat, it licks its fur to keep clean, sharpens its claws on trees and is attracted by catnip.
The sounds made by the Mountain Lion are said to be some of the most blood-curdling in the world. Here are a couple of descriptions. "The unearthly scream of a painter close at hand will almost freeze the blood in one's veins, and for an instant, paralyze any form of man or beast." And another one "...some sounds are quite terrifying, especially one which resembles the scream of a woman in extreme agony."
In the wilderness, the Cougar is entirely a predator. In settled areas they turned their attentions to domestic livestock. They made such heavy inroads that they were always hunted down without mercy. These great cats simply could not be tolerated in any farm community.
This is a cat of great strength. One blow of that front paw can break the neck of a sheep or a deer. It can leap a fence with a full grown sheep in its mouth.
For many years, it has been known to attack, kill and eat people. Many of these stories are very old, from the early days of settlement, but a lot of them were authenticated. However, some of the stories are quite new. Recently, there have been reports of quite a few attacks in the vicinity of Banff, including a fatal one, and there is no doubt at all about the truth of these.
For many years, there have been reports of cougar sightings in Northern Ontario. Whether these reports are really true or not, is still in the debate stage. Some day, we may get a positive identification of these great predators.
Could it be that a few of these huge, powerful cats still move like shadows through the pines here in the north, not far from our cozy homes?