Species Spotlight: Mountain Lion

Species In The

SPOTLIGHT

• Mountain lions are the largest small cat species, found in North and South America

• Also known as cougars, pumas or panthers, these powerful carnivores hunt deer, racoons and even porcupines

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• Super-fast, with excellent eyesight and hearing, they can swim, climb trees and jump over six metres

• Unlike big cats, mountain lions don’t roar. They growl, yowl, hiss and purr instead

• They were hunted by people and wiped out in much of

North America, but thanks to conservation, their numbers are now growing

• Mountain lions play a vital ecological role, so by protecting these top predators (sometimes known as umbrella species), countless other species thrive.