🐟 Great barracuda vs Cougar 🐆
The great barracuda and the cougar are about the same size. The cougar weighs about one and a half times as much as the great barracuda.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐟 Great barracuda | 🐆 Cougar |
|---|---|---|
| Size They are about the same size. | 6.6 ft2 m1 | 4.9 to 8.2 ft1.5 to 2.5 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The cougar weighs about one and a half times as much as the great barracuda. | 110 lb50 kg1 | 64 to 265 lb29 to 120 kg2 |
| Lives They are about the same. | 18 years18 years1 | 18 to 20 years18 to 20 years2 |
| Eats The great barracuda eats fish; the cougar eats meat. | fish, squid and sometimes shrimp | mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | warm shallow seas near the surface, in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans | mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places |
Which one? Great barracuda or cougar
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the great barracuda or the cougar yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Great barracuda vs Cougar
- The great barracuda: A long, slim fish of warm shallow seas.
- The cougar: A big, plain-colored cat of the Americas, also called a mountain lion.
- They are different kinds of animal. The great barracuda is a fish, so it breathes with gills; the cougar is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk.
- The great barracuda and the cougar are about the same size: 1 against 2.
- The cougar weighs about one and a half times as much as the great barracuda. That is 1 for the great barracuda and 2 for the cougar.
- They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the great barracuda and 2 for the cougar.
- The great barracuda eats fish, squid and sometimes shrimp. The cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too.
- The great barracuda lives in warm shallow seas near the surface, in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The cougar lives in mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The great barracuda: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The cougar: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐟 Great barracuda
- A great barracuda lives in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
- It stays near the surface in shallow water.
- It eats fish, squid and sometimes shrimp.
🐆 Cougar
- A cougar is also called a mountain lion.
- It once lived across more of the Americas than any other land mammal.
- It eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer.
Questions kids ask about Great barracuda and Cougar
Which is bigger, great barracuda or cougar?
The great barracuda and the cougar are about the same size: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, great barracuda or cougar?
The cougar weighs about one and a half times as much as the great barracuda. That is 1 for the great barracuda and 2 for the cougar.
Which lives longer, great barracuda or cougar?
They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the great barracuda and 2 for the cougar.
What do great barracuda and cougar eat?
The great barracuda eats fish, squid and sometimes shrimp. The cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too.
Where do great barracuda and cougar live?
The great barracuda lives in warm shallow seas near the surface, in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The cougar lives in mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, great barracuda or cougar?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/barracuda-vs-cougar
Where these numbers come from
- FishBase, Sphyraena barracuda (great barracuda), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Puma concolor (cougar, mountain lion), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.