Mountain lions are part of the cat family. They are also called pumas, cougars, panthers or American lions. 

These big cats live and hunt alone and are rarely seen. They usually try to avoid people but are very fierce animals and will attack people or pets for food. 

Mountain lions are not endangered. There are 30,000-40,000 in the US and about 7000-10,000 in Canada. There are many thousands more in other countries too. 

fierce: dangerous, willing to fight

Mountain lions live for about 10 years.

They are 3.25-5.25 feet long (1-1.5m) and have very long tails (23.5-33.5 inches / (60-85 cm). They weigh between 130-200 pounds. (62-90kg)

Mountain lions have the largest hind legs of all the big cats. This makes them very powerful jumpers. They can jump 40-45 feet (12-13m) across and can jump up to 18 feet off the ground. (5.5 m) When hunting, they like to hide and pounce on their prey.

Don't try to outrun a mountain lion! They are also very fast runners and can reach speeds of up to 50 mph / 80 kph. If you do see one, look it in the eyes and try to frighten it away.

Mountain lions have excellent vision and hearing which helps them to hunt. They have long sharp claws and big teeth which help them to kill and eat their prey.

Unlike other big cats, mountain lions don't roar! They scream, growl or purr.

hind legs: back legs

pounce: jump

vision: ability to see

prey: animals they eat

Mountain lions are carnivores. They hunt in the early morning or at night for animals such as deer or elk. They like large animals but will also hunt small prey such as mice or rabbits.

They hide their food in the ground, under soil or leaves so they can come back and eat it over several days.

carnivores: meat eaters

prey: animals killed for food

Mountain lions have a litter of babies every 2 years. Each litter has 2-4 babies, called cubs or kttens. The cubs stay safe in a den for several weeks until they can go out and play.

Babies are very cute but do not look like their mothers! Newborn cubs have brown spots on their fur and their eyes are blue! Their fur and eyes will change colour by around 6 months of age. They are only 1lb (500g)

The kittens drink their mother's milk for 7-9 weeks. Then their mother will take them to animals she has killed so they can try to eat meat. By the time they are 4-6 months old, they stop drinking milk.

litter: a group of babies

den: animal home