Cougar Footprint Cast

$22.00

The Cougar is largely solitary by nature and considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. It is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey.

Description

Cougar Footprint Cast Animal Tracks are an invaluable asset for science teachers, naturalists and zoos. The Cougar Footprint Cast are great educational plaques, made of extremely durable plastic, and are actually cast from the authentic footprints left behind by each animal described. Mountain Lion puma concolor. Footprint measures 8.6×6.69 inches.

Cougar tracks show four toes on both the front and hind paws, and an M-shaped heel pad with two lobes at the top or leading edge, and three lobes at the base. Their retractable claws do not show in their prints except on slippery or difficult terrain where they need more traction or during a prey pursuit.

Cougar tracks show four toes on both the front and hind paws, and an M-shaped heel pad with two lobes at the top or leading edge, and three lobes at the base. Their retractable claws do not show in their prints except on slippery or difficult terrain where they need more traction or during a prey pursuit.

Tracks of Cougars, especially in snow or muc, can be used as an indicator of the sex of a lion or whether a female might have young with her. More than one set of tracks often indicates a female with your or a group of sub-adults lions. Imature males may leave tracks as large at their mother’s. Adult females leave tracks about 3.5 inches in width or less. The tracks of large adult males may be up to 5 inches wide and the average male will have trackes approximately 4 inches wide. Tracks of Cougars in snow or mud is another way to determine gender from tracks is to measure the plantar (heel) pad.

Since a Cougar in a walking gait ususally places it’s hind foot on the track left by the same-side front foot, the hind track will usually be the most distinct and easiest to mears. The hind foot plantar pad width for a female adult will usually be less than two inches wide; a male’s plantar pad will usually be greater than two inches wide.

The front foot planter pad width for a female adult Cougar will measure between 2 to 2.5 inches; a male’s will usually be 2.5 to 3 inches wide. When walking in snow on level ground, mature males will have an average stride greater than 40 inches. Females and young Cougars will have a shorter stride, measuring less than 40 inches.

The Cougar or Puma concolor is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae. It is native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America, and is the widest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. Due to its wide range, it has many names including mountain lion, puma, red tiger, and catamount.

The Cougar or Puma concolor coloring is plain (hence the Latin concolor) but can vary greatly across individuals and even siblings. The coat is typically tawny like that of the lion, which is why it was initially called the “mountain lion”, but it ranges from silvery-grey or reddish with lighter patches on the under-body, including the jaws, chin, and throat.

Cougar or Puma concolor infants are spotted and born with blue eyes and rings on their tails; juveniles are pale and dark spots remain on their flanks.

The Cougar or Puma concolor is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer. It also hunts species as small as insects and rodents.

This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. The cougar is territorial and survives at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey.

It has killed lone jaguars, American black bears, and grizzly bears, American alligators (Florida Panther predation mainly), and to groups of gray wolves.

The Cougar or Puma concolor is reclusive and mostly avoids people. Fatal attacks on humans are rare, but have recently been increasing in North America as more people enter cougar territories, and build developments such as farms in their established territory.

Mountain Lion Facts:

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Puma
Species: P. concolor
Binomial name: Puma concolor
Conservation status: Least concern

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Additional information

Weight 2 lbs
Dimensions 8.6 × 6.69 in
National Mountain Lion Day - June 12th

June 12th celebrates the day of Mountain Lions.