176 



MAMMALIA-COUGAR. 



THE PUMA, OR COUGAR. I 



s^srv" ■. ; ' ; " r  



The puma, cougar, or American lion, is from four to five feet long, but 

 more commonly of the former size, and has a tail of half that length, which 

 has not, like that of the lion, a terminating brush of hair ; neither has the 

 puma a mane. Indeed, his name of lion could only have been given to him 

 by careless or unscientific observers, as his uniform sameness of color is the 

 sole point of resemblance which he has to the king of beasts. He has a 

 small rounded head, a broad and rather obtuse muzzle, and a body which, 

 in proportion, is slender and less elevated tban that of his more dignified 

 namesake. " The upper parts of his body," says Mr Bennett, " are of a 

 bright silvery fawn, thfe tawny hairs being terminated by whitish tips: be- 

 neath and on the inside of the limbs he is nearly Avhite, and more com 

 pletely so on the throat, chin, and upper lip. The head has an irregular 

 mixture of black and gray ; the outside of the ears, especially at the base, 

 the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers take their origin, and the 

 extremity of the tail, are black." The fur of the cubs has spots of a darker 

 hue, which are visible only in certain lights, and disappear when the animal 

 is full grown. Both the sexes are of the same color. 



The puma* was once spread over the whole wide extent of the new 

 world, from Canada to Patagonia. The progress of civilization has, how- 

 ever, circumscribed his range, and has rooted him out in many places. 

 Notwithstanding his size and strength, he is cowardly ; and, like almost all 

 cowards, he is sanguinary. If he find a flock of sheep unprotected, he will 



1 Felis concolor, Lin. 



* It is not now common, in any part of the United States, except the unsettled districts 

 It is usually called the panther, or painter, by the common people. It is also oiled the 

 catamount. 



