Cougar Facts for Kids
Puma concolor · POO-muh KON-kul-er
A big, plain-colored cat of the Americas, also called a mountain lion.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 64 to 265 lb29 to 120 kg1
- 📏 4.9 to 8.2 ft1.5 to 2.5 m1 long
- 🎂 18 to 20 years18 to 20 years1
- 🍽️ meat
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
A cougar is a big cat with a long tail. It is also called a mountain lion. It lives in the Americas.
Cougars once lived across more of the Americas than any other land mammal. Now they live mostly in wild, quiet places. They eat mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too.
The cougar is also called the mountain lion. It once lived across more of the Americas than any other land mammal, and it still lives in forests, grassland and deserts, though now mostly in wild, quiet places. A cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too. A cougar can live for many years in the wild.
How big is a cougar?
Cougar in numbers
| Length | 4.9 to 8.2 ft1.5 to 2.5 m1head and body plus tail, added; females and males |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 64 to 265 lb29 to 120 kg1females and males |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 18 to 20 years18 to 20 years1up to; in the wild |
| What it eats | mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too |
| Where it lives | mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- 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.
Compare the cougar
Friends and neighbours
Gray wolf
Moose
American bisonThree questions
Books about the cougar, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the cougar for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- 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, Cougar (Q35255), checked 30 October 2026.