Pumas are incredibly strong and fast predators with long bodies and powerful short legs. Individuals that live in colder climates have coats that are more grey than individuals living in warmer climates with a more red color to their coat. Depending on subspecies and the location of their habitat, the puma's fur varies in color from brown-yellow to grey-red. The majority of pumas are found in more mountainous regions, so they have a thick fur coat to help retain body heat during freezing winters. They have four retractable claws on their fore paws, and also their hind paws. They have powerful forequarters, necks, and jaws which help grasp and hold prey. The heads of these cats are round, with erect ears. They also have tails ranging from 25 to 37 inches (0.6 to 0.9 m) long. Females can reach around 6.7 feet (2.0 m) from nose to tail, and a body weight between 64 and 141 pounds (29 and 64 kg). Adult males can reach around 7.9 feet (2.4 m) from nose to tip of tail, and a body weight typically between 115 and 220 pounds (52 and 100 kg). ![]() ![]() Subspecies of the genus Puma include cats that are the fourth-largest in the cat family. However, their high adaptability will likely allow them to avoid disappearing from the wild forever. With the expansion of human settlements and land clearance, the cats are being pushed into smaller, more hostile areas. Though they choose to inhabit those areas, they are highly adaptive and can be found in a large variety of habitats, including forests, tropical jungle, grasslands, and even arid desert regions. Members of the genus Puma are primarily found in the mountains of North and South America, where a majority of individuals can be found in rocky crags and pastures lower than the slopes grazing herbivores inhabit. Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes in Argentina and Chile Pumas are the most adaptable felines in the Americas and are found in a variety of different habitats, unlike other cat species. The two subspecies of pumas have similar characteristics but tend to vary in color and size. Despite their large size, they are more closely related to smaller feline species than to lions or leopards. They are also commonly known as cougars and mountain lions, and are able to reach larger sizes than some other "big" cat individuals. In addition to these potential Old World fossils, a few New World fossil representatives are possible, such as Puma pumoides and the two species of the so-called " American cheetah", currently classified under the genus Miracinonyx. Puma ( / ˈ p j uː m ə/ or / ˈ p uː m ə/) is a genus in the family Felidae whose only extant species is the cougar (also known as the puma, mountain lion, and panther, among other names), and may also include several poorly known Old World fossil representatives (for example, Puma pardoides, or Owen's panther, a large, cougar-like cat of Eurasia's Pliocene).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |