CHILEAN COUGAR (PUMA)

CHILEAN COUGAR (PUMA)

The COUGAR (Felis concolor) is also known as mountain lion. It is protected by law in Chile, but it is still a victim of poachers who pursue it to its last living zones in the Andes range.

It is a carnivorous mammal. It belongs to the feline’s family. It has strong body and small head, reddish brown color with white cheeks. It size varies between 1.40 and 2.40 meters long.

Cougars are animals of great ability to climb trees or move between the rocks and can run very fast over short distances.

The cougar lives in America Continent and their natural environment is the forest and rocky areas. In Chile is found along the entire Andes.

The female, smaller than the male, gives birth every two or three years, and is the sole caretaker of the cubs. Cubs are born with spotted skin, color they lose as they grow.

The mother takes care of the cubs for a period of up to two years, in which she feeds and teaches them to hunt.

The man, its main enemy

In earlier times the cougar had abundance of natural hunting pieces, such as guanacos, huemules and vicuñas that existed in large numbers in the Chilean territory. The cougar controlled the amount of these animals.

Today, these preys have been almost exterminated by man, so the puma is often forced to attack livestock. In these circumstances, they are hunted by man and their number has been greatly reduced in recent decades.

Also, due to the agricultural crops, livestock feeding and timber harvesting in areas where this cat used to live in past times, the cougar living spaces have been reduced almost to a minimum.

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