Puma and mountain lion are other names for the cougar. In California, people call them mountain lions; across western North America, cougars; in Florida, panthers; and in Mexico, Central and South America, pumas. About 40 English names have been listed for the cougar, including puma, mountain lion and catamount. The Cat Specialist Group says thirty-two puma subspecies have been described, but only two are now tentatively recognised.

As of November 2026, the cougar's range runs from British Columbia in Canada through the US and Central and South America to the southern tip of Chile. The Cat Specialist Group says the puma can be found in every major habitat type in the Americas, except a few densely populated coastal regions and the highest reaches of the Andes.

The Cat Specialist Group says males weigh 40-60% more than females and can reach weights of up to 120 kg. The Cat Specialist Group also says pumas living in southern Chile and Canada weigh twice as much as pumas occurring in the tropics. Adult male cougars typically weigh between 115 and 220 pounds (52 to 100 kilograms), and adult female cougars weigh from about 29 to 64 kilograms (about 64 to 141 pounds).

As of November 2026, Florida panthers occur in peninsular Florida, primarily south of Orlando. Florida panthers are solitary, except for females with kittens, and tend to be most active between dusk and dawn. As of November 2026, the Cat Specialist Group says the Florida panther is classified as Endangered in North America.

The Florida panther was put on the first Endangered species list in 1967. Its population rebounded from an estimated low of 10 animals to over 200, as of April 2022. Eight female Texas panthers were brought in in the 1990s and released in Florida to breed, which increased panther numbers, genetic diversity and survival rates.

Scientists put GPS collars on pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The GPS device recorded the lion's location every 20 minutes. The collars also hold an accelerometer that records fine-grained data on behavior and movement.

The National Park Service study of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains began when the first lion, P-001, was captured on July 19, 2002. The study fits a GPS radio-collar on subadult and adult mountain lions to monitor their movements, and studies about a dozen at a time. Mountain lions use shrub vegetation, especially chaparral, in the Santa Monica Mountains.

In California, females have territories up to 300 square miles and males up to 500 square miles, which can overlap with several females. The National Park Service says the range of a mountain lion may cover 25 to 785 square miles.

A cougar hunts mainly deer, but its diet depends on where it lives and what is there. A cougar typically makes a large catch every 7 to 10 days. A female with kittens may hunt as often as every 3 days. A cougar stalks its food quietly before it leaps. A cougar must get close to its prey before it ambushes from a short distance.

Cougars have especially keen eyesight. They see better than people in dim light. A cougar can hear very high-pitched sounds.

A cougar can leap about 18 feet (5.5 meters) straight up. A cougar can leap about 40 feet along the ground in a single bound, and zoos report that a cougar can reach up to 50 miles per hour in a sprint.

Cougar kittens are born with spots. A cougar's spots fade as it grows and are almost gone by age 1. A mother cougar gives birth to her kittens in a den. A typical cougar litter is two to four kittens. A newborn cougar kitten weighs about one pound. Its eyes are blue when it is born.

Cougar kittens are cared for by their mother for up to two years. Male young cougars disperse from 23 to 274 km from where they were born, while females disperse from 9 to 140 km. Young cougars leave their mother and go off to find a territory of their own.

Words to know

• subspecies: a smaller kind
• subadult: nearly grown
• chaparral: dry shrubland
• solitary: alone
• disperse: spread out
• Endangered: in danger