1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:12,879 Speaker 1: Vogelbotan here. The cougar holds one of the Guinness World 3 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: Records for having the most names. It's referred to as 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: the puma, panther, mountain cat, mountain, lion, mountain screamer, painter, 5 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: and catamount, just to list a few. The cougar has 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: more monikers than almost any other living mammal, around forty 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: in English alone. That's because the name used for this 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: animal depends on its location, and there are a lot 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: of those across the Americas. Cougars have a fast and 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: powerful muscular body, a sharp eyesight and keen hearing, as 11 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: well as the ability to swim, climb trees, and jump 12 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: long distances. This adaptability means cougars can be found thriving 13 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: in many varied habitats, from these southern Andes and South 14 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: America to the Yukon in Canada, and everywhere from forests 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: to deserts. The different names evolved from local peoples around 16 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: the Inca Empire on the western coast of what's now 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: South America. The animal was called a puma. The Guarinee 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: peoples from further east had a word that I'm not 19 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: sure of the pronunciation of that eventually became cougar when 20 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: Europeans arrived. A panther roots from an ancient Greek term 21 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: for mid sized cats and mountain lion was probably coined 22 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,119 Speaker 1: by Spanish colonizers, who labeled the animal both lyons meaning 23 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: lion and ghetto monte, meaning cat of the mountain. No 24 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: matter what you call the cougar, however, it is still 25 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: the same cat, a species name puma con color. It's 26 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: the largest of these small cat species. There are some 27 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: slight differences in populations of cougars from different areas because 28 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: of their local climate, diet, and physical environment. For the 29 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: article this episode is based on How Stuff Works, spoke 30 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: with Charlie Jasper, who at the time was a property 31 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: security consultant around Los Angeles. He explained there are no 32 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: significant differences other than vernacular taxonomy. If you will, Panthers 33 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: in Florida and the southeastern United States, like most creatures there, 34 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: tend to be a little smaller. If you compare a 35 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: Carolinian white tailed deer with its equivalent up in Maine, 36 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: it's like looking at a labordoodle versus a wolf. In general, 37 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: most Cougars have slender bodies with somewhat round heads and 38 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: erect ears, and display a solid tawny colored coat, which 39 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: is how they got the name con color, with whitish 40 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: fur along their belly and slightly darker hair along their 41 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: back and around their ears, muzzle, paws, and at the 42 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: tip of their tail. In humid ecosystems, the animals tend 43 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: to be darker and reddish brown, while those living in 44 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: colder regions have a silvery gray coat that's thicker and longer. 45 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: Cougars are powerfully built, with large paws, retractable claws, and 46 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: sharp carnivore teeth. The hind legs are more muscular than 47 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: the fore legs, which enables them to jump over fifteen 48 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: feet or about five meters up or down trees or mountains. 49 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: Cougars have a flexible spine, much like that of a cheetah, 50 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: which allows them to maneuver and change directions abruptly. Adults 51 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: can grow up to about five to nine feet long, 52 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: including some two to three feet of tail. That's about 53 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: one and a half to three meters total. With up 54 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,839 Speaker 1: to a meter of tail, they might weigh anywhere from 55 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: sixty five to two hundred and twenty pounds that's thirty 56 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: to one hundred kilos, with male cougars being larger and 57 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: heavier than female cougars. That is a lot of cat 58 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: and they are apex predators, so they should be considered dangerous, 59 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: though attacks on humans are extremely rare with many predators. 60 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: A cougar may attack if cornered, if a fleeing human 61 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: stimulates a cougar's instinct to chase, or if a person 62 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: plays dead and seems like an easy target. In the 63 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: case of an attack, you're looking to make yourself seem 64 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: larger and more menacing with intense eye contact, a slow 65 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: waving of raised arms, loud but calm shouting, and even 66 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: throwing stones or sticks in the animal's direction to encourage 67 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,919 Speaker 1: it to retreat. You can back away slowly, but don't 68 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: turn your back. If you live in an area with cougars, 69 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: keep a close watch on pets and be sure to 70 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: teach children to respect and avoid wild animals. The cougar 71 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: is a carnivore, which means it requires meat in its 72 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: diet and it will eat any animal it can catch, 73 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: from insects to large hoofed animals. Its primary prey are 74 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: various deer species, including mule deer, white tailed deer, elk, 75 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: and even moose, while other food bases can include larger 76 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: wild or domestic animals like goats, sheep, horses, cattle, lama, 77 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: and alpaca, of various rodents like porcupines, rabbits and capabera, weasels, birds, 78 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: and even semi aquatic life like sea lions and seals. 79 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: And Jasper said they'll go after other predators too to 80 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: reduce competition and feed themselves to boot. When cougars attack, 81 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: they usually employ a characteristic neck bite. In larger prey, 82 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: they attempt to position their teeth between the vertebra and 83 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: into the spinal cord, resulting in a fatal injury. They're 84 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: capable of breaking the neck of some of their smaller 85 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: prey with a strong bite. Kills are generally estimated at 86 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: around one large mammal every two weeks, while female cougars 87 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: raising their young may kill every three days. The cat 88 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: commonly drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it 89 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: with brush, and returns to feed over several days. The 90 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: cougar wich generally is a non scavenger, meaning it rarely 91 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: consumes prey that it hasn't killed. Of the twenty subspecies 92 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: of cougar, three are considered endangered, the Florida panther, the 93 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: Eastern puma, and the Costa Rican puma. Cougar populations have 94 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: historically been hunted out of fear of the animals killing 95 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: rancher's livestock, but with human populations continuing to expand into 96 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: the animal's habitat, it's likely that there will be increased 97 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: human animal conflict that may necessitate continued protection. Today's episode 98 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: is based on the article What's the Difference between a 99 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: Mountain Lion and a Cougar? On how Stuffworks dot Com 100 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: written by Wendy Bowman and brain Stuff is production of 101 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com 102 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from 103 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 104 00:06:54,080 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.